Zucchini Soup

During the summer I always have more than enough zucchini from my garden, plus my neighbor always gives me some of his as well. You can only make so much zucchini bread before it becomes too much so I thought I'd try something new.
My 2 1/2 year old is a super picky veggie eater but LOVES soup! I love to make him soups that are chuck full of veggies and puree them so that he has no idea they are in there but will eat a huge bowl of it and love it. This soup was no exception. He loves bacon which helped but he ate a huge bowl of this soup. It really is delicious for such a simple soup.




Zucchini Soup
(Courtesy of sisterscafe.blogspot.com)
*I altered this recipe slightly from the original*


1 cup chopped onions
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups chicken broth (I used veggie bouillon cubes in water)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup half and half or milk will work fine
*Optional garnishes*
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Bacon cooked crisp and then crumbled

In a large saucepan cook onions in melted butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and sliced zucchini. Stir. Add broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender (about 15 minutes). Cool slightly. Pour mixture into blender and puree it. Stir in half and half or milk. Return to saucepan and reheat, but do not boil. Taste to test seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and bacon bits.
Makes 6 small servings.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I don't know about you, but when I plant my garden I always have zucchini growing like crazy (and I only plant one plant!) and on top of that, my cute neighbor always wants to share some of his so we have MORE than enough for all of us with a year supply on top of that. Aside from savory ways to prepare all my zucchini, my house loves zucchini bread. My husband is a chocolate fanatic, so when I found this new recipe I knew I had to try it. It didn't disappoint.






Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
(Courtesy of sisterscafe.blogspot.com)
*I altered this recipe slightly from the original*

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup melted butter (cooled)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
2 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 small bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat together the eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients (minus the chocolate chips) mix until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into greased and sugared loaf pans (Sugaring is just like flouring a pan, just use sugar instead. It will make the crust sweet and crispy)

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

*This batch made 2 smallish loaves in disposable loaf pans, I doubled it and ended up with 4 loaves!*

Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad

Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad
(Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:
1 bunch (about 1-1 1/2 pounds) of asparagus, tough ends trimmed
3 large red bell peppers (I used red and orange)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to toss with vegetables
1/4 cup fresh squeeze lemon juice from 2 lemons
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1 pound short, bite sized pasta
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Grill peppers and asparagus on grill until lightly charred and tender. Cool to room temperature (They could also be roasted if you'd prefer that)



2. Chop the veggies up and toss with oil, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and salt to boiling water. Cook until pasta is al dente and drain.
4. While pasta is cooking make dressing. Whisk lemon juice, zest, 3/4 tsp salt, garlic and ground black pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in 3/4 cup oil in a slow, steady stream until smooth.
5. While pasta is hot toss with veggies, chives, basil, parmesan cheese and dressing and mix thoroughly. Cool to room temperature. Adjust seasonings and serve.

(Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 1 day; return to room temperature before serving.)

Orange Chipotle Grilled Chicken Breasts

Grilled Chicken Breasts
(Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:
4 bone-in chicken breasts
1/3 cup salt
Cold water
1 recipe for the glaze (see below)

1. Dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold water in a large container. Add chicken, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. When finished, rinse chicken under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season chicken with pepper.

2. Turn all burners to high heat with the lid down until very hot. Cook chicken until the thickest part of the breast reads 150 degrees on a thermometer.

3. Brush both sides of the chicken with the glaze. Continue to cook until browned and the thermometer reads 160 in the thickest part of the breast. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. Let rest 5 minutes. Serve. Pass remaining glaze separately.

Orange-Chipotle Glaze
(Also courtesy of Cooks Illustrated)

(I would at least double this batch, I barely had enough to brush on the chicken once while cooking and none leftover to brush on afterward.)

Ingredients:
1 tsp orange zest
2/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, from 2 oranges
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 Tbsp)
1-2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, minced (1-2 Tbsp) - I used 1 chile
2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp light molasses (I just had regular molasses in my pantry so that's what I used)
3/4 tsp cornstarch
Salt

Combine zest, juice, shallot, chile and thyme in a small saucepan, then whisk in molasses and cornstarch. Simmer mixture over medium heat until thickened (about 5 minutes). Season with salt. Reserve half the glaze for serving and use the other half for brushing on chicken while grilling. (Again, I would at least double this recipe if you are going to reserve some for serving, I didn't have enough in the end.)

Orange Garlic Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Orange Garlic Grilled Pork Tenderloin
(Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated)

Pork:
2 pork tenderloins, silver skin trimmed off
3 Tbsp kosher salt (or 1 1/2 Tbsp table salt)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups water (hot)
2 cups water (cold)

In a medium bowl, dissolve the salt and sugar in the hot water. Stir in the cold water to cool the mixture to room temperature. Add the tenderloins and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until fully seasoned (about an hour). While the tenderloin is in the brine, make the wet rub.

Orange Garlic Wet Rub

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp grated orange zest from 1 large orange
2 large cloves garlic, minced (about 1 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp orange marmalade
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.

10-15 minutes before the pork is ready, turn all burners on a gas grill to high, close lid and let the grill get nice and hot. Will take about 10-15 minutes.

When the tenderloin is fully seasoned, remove from the brine, rinse well and dry with paper towels. Rub tenderloin with wet rub. Cook with grill lid closed until well browned on three sides (about 3 1/2 minutes per side) then cook on the final side until well browned and the internal temp. is 145-150 degrees in the thickest part of the meat. Pull the pork off the grill and let rest under a tin foil tent for 5 minutes. Slice and serve

Italian Brine Grilled Chicken

Italian Brine Grilled Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

Chicken breast
Cold water
Salt
Italian seasoning
Pepper

Fill a bowl with cold water and add a decent amount of salt. Add about a palmful of Italian seasoning. Add chicken and let sit in the fridge for about an hour. When you are ready, preheat your grill for 10 minutes until nice and hot.

Pull chicken out of brine and dry off with paper towels. Season both sides with pepper and a little extra Italian seasoning if it all came off when you dried the chicken. Grill until the chicken is juicy and fully cooked. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving (this will continue to cook the chicken, so don't over cook on the grill).

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce
(Courtesy of sisterscafe.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh asparagus
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut or snap the ends off the washed asparagus and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes or until tender (but not mushy). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Let it lightly simmer until the sauce thickens a little bit or it won't stick to the asparagus.

Pour finished sauce over roasted asparagus and serve!