Zucchini Casserole and Zucchini Bread

Parents often tell me they can not get their kids to eat vegetables. Over the years I've always looked for creative ways to mix vegetables into recipes versus putting a helping of vegetables on my kids' plates. We've tried spinach dip, vegetable lasagna, marinara sauce with diced veggies over pasta etc.

A few weeks ago I found a new recipe for a zucchini casserole that we all ended up loving. Of course I took the original recipe and added my own twists to it. The result was that we've made the recipe a few times since.

Healthy Casseroles

I found zucchini on sale, so I bought six of them. I used five of the six for the recipe. The recipe showed the zucchini sliced in circles with the skin on. I actually took the skin off and then put the zucchini in my chopper and chopped it all up.

In a large bowl, I mixed the zucchini with the following:

5 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (try Miracle whip for a bit of a different flavor)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (there is a taste difference between mild and sharp)
¼ cup parmesan cheese (use fresh grated or packaged, not the plastic bottles of cheese)
1 egg
1 onion minced (I used onion flakes as my daughter does not like onions in recipes)

Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I like it a very dark brown so I cooked it just a bit longer.

We've made this recipe a few times now, always with the same results, it's finished off quickly.

We also make zucchini bread. Most recipes call for nuts. I do not care for nuts in breads so I omit them. Also most recipes call for raisins or cranberries. I prefer pineapple, so this recipe omits both raisins and cranberries and instead uses pineapple. The recipe I have makes two large loaves:

3 cups flour
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 - 8 ounce can crushed pineapple
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add in the oil, vanilla and sugar. Beat with electric beater for about 2 minutes. Stir in the pineapple and the zucchini and mix.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour into zucchini mixture and mix until blended. Bake at 350 degrees about one hour. Middle should be dry when a toothpick is inserted.

These are just two recipes that get kids to eat vegetables in a creative way.

Zucchini Casserole and Zucchini Bread

Audrey's mom always entertained when she was growing up. Audrey learned to prepare for large groups and has often entertained 15-30 people in her home at a time. You can find more great recipes at http://www.recipe-barn.com