Category — Appetizers

[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here Saturdays to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]

Got Zucchini?

As the season winds down and the vegetable stands in our area switch to squash, pumpkins, onions and apples - I’m left with fewer local fresh veggie options. But, just about everyone still has a few of those monster zukes left . . . a lot of the farmers are giving them away now. Hey, I never pass up free vegetables. Never. Not even a zucchini.

I’m pretty bummed because my neighbor didn’t grow any tomatoes this year. Last year she grew so many that after she couldn’t stand canning one more day she gave me the leftovers. Her leftovers were enough to keep me and mine in tomato sauce for a full year. I stopped by the other day to tell her how much we appreciated the tomatoes last year (hint, hint, hint) and she told me she skipped growing tomatoes this year since they still hadn’t finished all of last year’s harvest. As I jumped back into my truck she called after me . . . “Hey you want some of this zucchini?”

But, what do you do with all this zucchini after you’ve sauteed, grilled, shredded, baked, deep fried, mixed in chocolate and made enough bread for a small army?

You make Vegetable Blondies.

What, you might ask is a Vegetable Blondie? Well, a “blondie” is simply a moist and chewy non-chocolate bar cookie. A vegetable blondie is a moist, chewy, non-chocolate vegetable bar.

They don’t sound all that appetizing when you describe it that way, do they? Just stick with blondie and you’ll be fine. And. I promise you - they are tasty, tasty. And, they have so many benefits it’s a little overwhelming. Let’s see . . .

(Angie Pangie begins counting with her fingers)
Low-Carb
High Taste
Excellent served hot. Taste good at room-temp. Great cold!
Portable. Take them to a pitch-in potluck.
Full of scrumptious, good-for-you, delectable and fragrant vegetables that make your mouth water.
Super simple to make.
Oh yeah. And they use a bunch of zucchini.

You better get to mixing. These are perfect to take along as an appetizer, but we love them for lunch, with dinner, as a snack . . . whenever. We just want to eat them!!

Vegetable Blondies

Adapted from Recipezaar

3 cups zucchini, grated and well-drained
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sharp cheddar, grated (or more, if desired)
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup all purpose
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350ºF.

This recipe takes a little bit of work because you have to grate all the zucchini and the carrot.  It goes pretty quickly with a mandoline grater attachment or even a baby food-processor.  You can always resort to the old school tower of doom, if you must.  Any which way you go about it make sure your zucchini is well drained. You can squeeze it inside a clean towel or paper towel after you grate it.

Grease bottom and sides of a 13X9 rectangular pan.

In a medium bowl, mix eggs, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, pepper sauce, parsley and vegetables.
Add dry ingredients and stir into liquid mixture.
Stir in melted butter.

Spread mixture evenly into pan.
Sprinkle a small amount of additional grated cheddar cheese over top, if desired.
Bake about 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool slightly, cut into tiny small squares.  These are wonderful served with sour cream on the side.

You know what today was? That’s right, the first day of school! And no one can ever celebrate the first day of school without watching this famous Staples Commercial.

I know, a bunch of you are saying “Um. My kids went back to school a month ago, what in the world are you talking about? What part of the backwoods are you living in, Angie Pangie?”

It’s true, I know. We went on vacation three weeks ago and the kids in Indiana were already in school when we got there. But, here in Michigan, they passed a law that says you can’t go back to school before Labor Day. So, every year all the kids in Michigan go back to school the day after Labor Day. The kids love it, and frankly, I don’t mind them being home for all of August. I do have to admit though, it is awfully nice and quiet here now that they are (all three) gone.

This morning I saw them all off to school without much trouble and I came home to clean out my closet (it was my hiding place on the really hairy days this summer - and I needed to get rid of all the empty bon-bon containers.) After I cleaned out the closet, I noticed something really strange. Today, when I picked up the trail of dirty socks off the living room floor they didn’t magically reappear when I turned around and looked the other way. I shut my eyes really tightly, but they just wouldn’t play.

Since Hubby and I were a little lonesome for the kids and bored since the socks refused to reappear and entertain us, we decided to hang out and have lunch together.

And, because everyone has been bringing me tomatoes from their gardens, I had an a wonderful assortment of tomatoes to use up. I decided to make some Italian salsa for us to munch on as an appetizer. Now, a lot of my friends and family would call this “bruschetta” and to be fair, most of the time, I refer to it the same way.

Technically speaking though, bruschetta is a toasted garlic-rubbed bread; not the the tomato stuff on top. I do like to make toasted bread, but a lot of time when I made this salsa I usually just serve it with garlicky crackers.

This is a simple and ultra yummy appetizer. It’s better after you let it rest in the fridge for a while, but you can make it and eat it right away, too. Make sure you tote some gum because it packs a for-real garlic punch. No foolin’ there. Use up some of your fresh tomatoes today (or hit the local farmer’s market), you’ll be glad you tried this one!

**I just noticed that the pictures that I took for this post are corrupt! I am so bummed out!! Well, I’m going to go ahead and post the recipe and maybe tomorrow I’ll make a fresh batch of salsa and take some new photos.**

Italian Salsa

1 1/2 cups of finely chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 tablespoon of fresh minced basil, or 2 tsp. of dried basil
2-3 cloves of fresh minced garlic
1 or 2 pieces of marinated sun-dried tomatoes, diced
2-3 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Use a very sharp knife to dice the tomatoes into small pieces. Make sure you aren’t just squashing the tomatoes, you want them to be cut into small squares - not pulvirized. And, yes, I know this from experience.

You can use a garlic press for the garlic, or just chop it extra tiny. It’s served raw, and you don’t want any huge stray pieces in there!

If you use the sun-dried tomatoes you’ll be please with the wonderful deep flavor and the gorgeous appearance your salsa will have. They are a bit pricey, but a jar will last a long time.

Gently mix together the tomatoes, basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.

Serve with garlic crisps or on bruschetta.

Hello Dears.   

I wish I had lots of time to tell you about my hectic week, but I don’t.  How about I just give you the highlights?

Interesting Reading:  My Hubby thinks he knows a thing or two about food blogs.  Actually, he claims to know very little about food, but is writing a series of articles titled How To Write the Best Damn Food Blog on the Net.  Confused?  I was at first too, but then I started reading it and it’s supremely interesting.  He might not know a lot about food blogs, but he does know an awful lot about writing.  So, if you are a food blogger, or actually any type of blogger who is interested in being better at what you do, you should consider taking a look over there.

Rock Band:  A new game that I want to play with all my friends as much as possible.  I’ve had company a lot over the last few nights.  And we are having SO much fun!  With this game you can play guitar, bass guitar, drums, and sing.  We all take turns and I totally rock at singing (NOT!).  Anyhow, it’s a lot of fun and it’s keeping me from my regularly scheduled duties.  Like posting here.  I knew you’d understand though. 

Which leads me to today’s snackies.

Rock Star Pizza Quesadillas.  You can eat these on the road.  Dude.  They’re portable.  And they wipe off the drumsticks real easy like.  I’m going to go ahead and give you the recipe now, so as I can get back to practice.  They’re already hollering for me to come play!

I’m kicking everyone out tomorrow so that I can actually do a proper post for Saturday Sides.  Until then, it’s party like a Rock Star with these ooey-gooey Italian inspired Quesadillas.  If you wanted to, you could get really fancy and add some sauteed onion and a handful of mushrooms, too.  I didn’t do that, though, mainly because it might have taken me an extra 45 seconds or something.  And I was in a hurry.  These are fast, easy, and scrumptious.  So go make some!  Go on . . . I’ll just play one more song while you whip ‘em up.

Rockstar Pizza Quesadillas

Adapted from Recipezaar

1 cup pizza sauce
2 teaspoons butter, softened
4-10 inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces hard salami, diced
2 ounces pepperoni, diced
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Start out by spreading butter over one side of each tortilla.

Cut up the salami and pepperoni into a small to medium sized dice.  The best stuff to buy is the big slices you get from the deli.  Is goooood.  But, as you can see here, I just used some leftover lunchmeat and pizza pepperoni I had in my fridge.  They work, too.

Put one tortilla, buttered side down in a large saute pan.  Sprinkle with a little less than half the mozzarella cheese.

Top with salami and pepperoni.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and oregano, then sprinkle another tablespoon (or so) of mozzarella cheese over the top. 

 By adding a small amount of mozzarella on the top it will melt and act like glue.  You’ll need this when you flip these over.  Top with remaining tortillas, buttered side up.  Cook, over medium heat, for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cheese is melted.  Flipping these can be a bit of a challenge.  I grab one side with tongs and put a large pancake turner under the other side.  Wait until it’s golden brown to turn it (you only want to flip once!).

Remove it from the pan and cut into wedges; serve with warmed pizza sauce.