Summer Bounty

Yay! It's time for fresh veggies from the farmer's market, supermarket, or in our case our very own back yard. Now, me- I have 2 black thumbs. I can't grow anything except little boys. Adam has the green thumbs in this family, and luckily he has passed that gene onto Alex. (Who knew gardening was included in the Y chromosome?) My boys spend many hours "playing" in the dirt during the summer months and the harvest we get out of it is Mommy's treat. And it allows me to have fresh ingredients to test recipes w/ to share w/ all of you. Unfortunately, it's not quite time for Alex to walk out back w/ his favorite plastic bowl to fill up w/ tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchinis, eggplant, etc to present to me, with a huge proud smile on his face. Our favorite farmer's market isn't open quite yet either, but when I saw a picture of this on Foodista I had to click on it to see what all was involved; and hoped I could find good zucchini at the supermarket! This comes to us from The Fit Foodista, a blog I hadn't seen until now, but will definitely go to again! I served them w/ grilled pork chops and applesauce, but they are substantial enough on their own, they would make a great vegetarian meal w/ some crusty bread on the side:) All 3 of us agreed they were delicious. In fact Alex said "These zucchini rock Mommy. Put them on the blog." So here you go! Get out there and enjoy all the wonderful fresh, healthy foods summer has to offer!

Stuffed Zucchini w/ Artichokes Adapted from Fit Foodista
4 slices day-old wheat bread ( I used 1 cup dried bread crumbs)
3 medium zucchini
3/8 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 c. finely chopped onion
1/3 c. canned artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBS chicken broth (could use white wine for vegetarian version)
5 TBS Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350. Place bread in food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. Set aside. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell. Chop pulp. Place zucchini halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper; sprinkle w/ 1/8 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini pulp and onions. Saute 5 minutes. Add remaining salt, pepper, artichoke hearts, thyme, and garlic. Cook 45 seconds. Add broth; cook 1 minute or until most of the liquid evaporates. Combine breadcrumbs and onion mixture in a large bowl; stir in cheese and basil. Spoon 1/2 cup breadcrumb mixture into each zucchini shell. Sprinkle w/ extra Parmesan on top. Bake for 45 minutes or until just tender.

Shared on Julie's Eats & Treats July 16, 2011

Shared on Mandy's Recipe Box July 18, 2011
Shared on Everyday Sisters Sept. 11, 2011