The All-Zucchini Meal Challenge 
 
Sep. 8, 2009 9:35 pm 
Updated: Sep. 15, 2009 12:47 pm
Ever challenge yourself to use one ingredient in every dish served during a meal?

I did.


Labor Day around our place was chilly and touched with rain showers off and on. The grill was off. I'd seen a few recipes I was hoping to try, so I decided to make zucchini my focus and started shredding. I happily recommend every recipe in this blog. I'll keep it short and simple so you can all start shredding those zucchini (my plants are STILL producing  a few a week).

Okay, so this was actually breakfast, but there IS zucchini in there. These ZUCCHINI-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS were excellent.


On to the dinner hour...

The main course was ZUCCHINI STUFFED CHICKEN. I was a little skeptical about this recipe, but it was great. The hubster asked me to make it again.


Also on the plate, BAKED VEGETABLES. I did substitute other peppers for the green peppers, and I used Roma tomatoes. I topped the dish with cheddar cheese for the last 10 minutes or so. Now I have to tell you my husband surprised me with this one. I threw a baked potato in the oven for him (well, I threw in a raw potato and baked it...) and he didn't eat it. He kept eating the baked veggies. I put in LOTS of zucchini.



Rounding out the plate, SAVORY CHEDDAR ZUCCHINI MUFFINS. Okay, shameless plug - it's my recipe and they really are good. I did change it up this time, though. Since I was using Cheddar in the veggies and there was Swiss in the chicken recipe, I decided to use Pepper Jack in the muffins. They were good, but personally I prefer the Cheddar. I can't get these to turn out badly, despite a few negative (even nasty) reviews. Seriously, people with PMS shouldn't rate recipes.


Last was ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CAKE. I've made several different zucchini cake recipes. The last one bombed (I didn't rate it - I had PMS at the time). This one was the bomb!


I hope you'll try some of these great recipes.
As always, thanks for dropping by!
 
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Comments
Sep. 8, 2009 10:12 pm
Watch out you'll start to dream of them! hahaha. I have to say, I have never even thought of using only one ingred for the whole meal. That is very cleaver:) I like it.It looks great and a super sneaky way to get the kids to eat the dreaded green vegy!Nice job!
 
Sep. 8, 2009 10:31 pm
I have done this with tomatoes. My father-in-law (bless his heart)brought me a whole giant bag of red and green tomatoes while I was pregnant with my son and didn't particularly feel like canning. So I invited the whole family over and made: Stuffed Bell Peppers (with tomatoes in the stuffing and a slice on top with sugar to carmelize while baking)fried green tomatoes, Tomato salad(Tomato chopped with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, and a little sugar)dessert? green tomato pie! (I had never heard of it but it tastes a lot like apple pie) no one said anything about the abundance of tomatoes until I mentioned it. This was probably as much work as canning but it was a lot more fun.
 
Sep. 8, 2009 10:38 pm
Hi, Pam.I never try it or thought on that but right now I'm so hungryyy because of your food and pics, your menu was much more health and health then mine. Great job as always. :0)
 
Sep. 9, 2009 9:01 am
I am reading this at work and stifling laughter after reading "People with PMS shouldn't review recipes." HA!! Love the post and love the idea of a common ingredient throughout the whole meal. I can't wait to try those zucchini cheddar muffins!
 
Sep. 9, 2009 1:21 pm
Thanks for the comments everyone. Nashville Nosher, I hope you like the muffins. I wonder what gets into some people when they review recipes. I emailed AR and asked that they remove a line from a 1 star review my muffins received. The reviewer basically insulted everyone who followed the directions and came up with a good muffin. (That's where the PMS comment came from...) ♥
 
Sep. 9, 2009 6:09 pm
Can't wait to try these! Thanks. I did a similar theme meal using butternut squash...all was good but truly by dessert I'd had enough squash!...maybe it's a little richer than zucchini.
 
Cam Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)
Sep. 9, 2009 7:21 pm
Hmmm...I did much the same challenge to myself and was informed enough! My guy realized there was zuchini in everything and quit eating zuchs in protest! hahahaha I'm still enjoying them!
 
Sep. 9, 2009 7:35 pm
I think the butternut is richer. Zucchini is really easy to disguise. No one realized it was in the cake or the muffins! LOL
 
Sep. 10, 2009 4:51 am
I hadn't thought of doing a meal using a basic ingredient throughout but this was so imaginative that I was really impressed! Your photos were awesome as well. Such a pleasure reading your blogs.
 
Sep. 10, 2009 6:56 pm
Ohhh. An All Zucchini Meal. I forsee this in the future. Will use your dinner plan. Can't wait. :)
 
Sep. 11, 2009 12:10 am
Have you all seen the yellow zucchini? It looks very much like the green, but it is a golden yellow. When you shred it, it disappears in the recipe. All the vendors have been selling it at our local Farmers Market. I also like the way a dish looks when you use both the green and yellow.
 
Sep. 11, 2009 2:12 pm
I haven't seen the yellow - mostly because I've been using my garden zucchini exclusively. I'll have to look for it, though. :)
 
Sep. 12, 2009 7:07 am
I did this back in July (see my blog post: http://5thsister.blogspot.com/2009/07/iron-chef-zucchini.html) My milkshake recipe even got published by AR!
 
Sep. 12, 2009 9:12 am
5thSister - Your meatloaf sounds amazing!
 
Sep. 15, 2009 12:46 pm
What a great idea - can't wait to try it - trying to come up with the one food now - Hmmmm - thanks
 
Sep. 15, 2009 12:47 pm
What a great idea - can't wait to try it - trying to come up with the one food now - Hmmmm - thanks
 
 
 
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My Profile
Pam-3BoysMama
 Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)
Home Town: Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA
Living In: New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA
Member Since: Jan. 2003
Cooking Level: Expert
Cooking Interests: Baking, Stir Frying, Mexican, Italian, Southern, Healthy, Dessert, Quick & Easy, Gourmet
Hobbies: Gardening, Fishing, Photography, Reading Books, Music
 
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About Me 
I have three sons, ages 13, 12, and 9, who are very picky eaters (especially the middle one). Their favorite meal is a bowl of buttered pasta. I try to cook things that they might enjoy trying, but they're not always willing to try new things. My oldest is getting better. He actually eats real food much of the time now! In my spare time I teach second grade. I have introduced my students to cooking and/or new foods over the years. We've even baked cakes in my roaster right in the classroom!
My favorite things to cook
I love to try all sorts of new recipes, so I don't really have a favorite thing to cook. I go in phases, really. I've been doing more cupcake and cake decorating lately. I'll try almost anything if I think my family will eat it.
My favorite family cooking traditions
I love making the pumpkin pies and other desserts for Thanksgiving. I always like to try one new dessert for each holiday. Baking Christmas cookies is a tradition that goes back as long as I can remember.
My cooking triumphs
I've made some pretty cool cakes for my boys' birthdays. They include a firetruck, baseball, football, and Pokeball. I've also used shaped pans to decorate everything from Barney and Elmo, Power Ranger, Jeff Gordon's #24 racecar, a dog and dog house, and most recently, a monkey and a penguin. One of my best triumphs has been teaching my boys to cook. They'll never go hungry.
My cooking tragedies
The first time I cooked a turkey I relied on my thermometer to tell when it was done. It wasn't.
 
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