Hello readers – This post is actually a blast from the past (o.k., well from last October) that I thought you might enjoy making this summer. Also, I want to send a special welcome out to any new visitors that found me through Jolene Ketzenberger’s article in the Indianapolis Star (and a big shout out to my peeps back home). I hope you’ll take a look around my site and that you’ll come back again, soon! xo-Angie Pangie
[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. (Up here in Michigan it’s a potluck, back home in Indy? A pitch-in.)
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 flour
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
Grease bottom and sides of a 13X9 rectangular pan.
In a medium bowl, mix eggs, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, pepper sauce, herbs, garlic and vegetables.
Add the 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.
Similar Posts:
- None Found
{ 1 trackback }
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Angie,
There are days when you freak me out. Seriously. I have a family get together next week end, and had no clue what I was going to take. How did you know???? Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This looks awesome. I’m actually craving vegetables!
Bridgets last blog post..Friendly Frankensteins
I made a batch of these yesterday. I used a “tower of doom” and grated the cheese as well as the vegetables. It was still fairly quick to make. Angie didn’t lie-these are wonderful hot or cold. An added bonus was my toddler LOVES them-and she’s been fighting vegetables tooth and nail these days.
I have a little problem with your recipe. In the ingredients you say oregano and then in the directions, you say parsley. Which is it? Also I assume that all purpose in the ingredients means flour.
@Myra – Thanks for visiting and catching those things! The down side to not having an editor (beyond myself) is that sometimes I miss things.
I have updated the recipe to show the corrections – it is indeed oregano and all purpose flour.
Angie–for the past 20 years, I have been at WFYI reading the newspaper to the blind over the IRIS network (also available on the World Wide Web). Since I read on Wednesday mornings, and like to cook , I always read Joanie Fusion and Jolene’s articles and some recipes. It was a pleasure to include your website in my reading yesterday!
I would love to try this recipe but am confused about a couple of things. In the ingredients you list 1 T Italian Seasoning, then later you list 1/2/ dried oregano. In the instructions you say to put the oregano in with the eggs, cheeses, and vegetables and never mention the Italian Seasoning. Did you intend to include both? (Italian Seasoning already has oregano in it, or would it suffice to just use one or the other, and if so, how much?) If so, is there a reason to put them in separately, or can they both be put in at the same time, either with the liquid or with the dry ingredients? Also, do you think the recipe would work without the butter (to reduce fat) or that drastically change it (besides being a little less rich)? Thanks.
Hi Sabrina,
You can add the seasonings with the liquid or dry and ingredients – it will make no difference. You can safely use just Italian seasoning alone or you can go ahead and jazz it up with the extra oregano as the recipe indicates.
As far as omitting the butter, I have never tried to cook this recipe without the butter, so I cannot be certain what your results might be. Having said that, since there isn’t another fat included in the recipe it likely will not turn out if you do not replace the butter (margarine, oil, applesauce are options).
This recipe is slightly bread-like when it done, so the fat is necessary to bind and tenderize the recipe. As always, I encourage folks to play around with recipes, you just have to allow for a certain degree of failure if you decide to stray too far from the basic building blocks of the recipe.
Happy cooking,
Angie Pangie
Hi, I found this recipe a million years ago, but only just tried it today. These are delicious! I grated the parm onto the top and left out the pepper, but did everything else the same. I tried to squeeze out the liquid from the veg as much as possible, but they were still a bit too wet for my liking. Do they firm up as they cool? The taste is wonderful, savoury and complex and a bit spicy, and the texture is a bit like a crustless quiche. I hope my 2.5 year old loves them tomorrow, I’ve been trying for ages to find a way he’ll eat eggs!