Uses For Gigantic Zucchini...

Who hasn't missed a zucchini or two hiding in the garden and before long, you've tripped over a few? Well here is an idea for you, make pasta with it. Most have been trained to think, zucchini that has gotten so big just needed to be fed to the hens, or tossed into the compost pile. You may just want to give it a second though.  If you haven't made it to your garden quick enough to get those zucchini when they are perfect size, not to worry.

 A couple of weeks ago, we found a tool for making noodles from veggies at a local Asian supermarket. It cost about $2.99. We purchased one and brought it home to give it a try. We peeled a large zucchini and cut in half. Laying the flat side of the squash to the cutting board. We stripped the zucchini down and around until we started hitting the seeds and center. We just tossed seeds and centers into the compost bucket.  

We placed the zucchini noodles in a glass dish and microwaved for 2 minutes. It was the was perfect consistency for spaghetti. We could still twirl it onto our fork perfectly, just like traditional pasta. It is so delicious. Honestly, I think from now on we will be using zucchini as our pasta.  We loved it so much, when we popped back in the Asian market, we bought several of the tools to give to family when we shared squash with them. We are so sure that the family will be as hooked as we are on this.

Papaw, with all his muscles spent an hour or so this evening cutting zucchini and I bagged it for the freezer. We froze about 7 to 8 quart sized bags from about 4 oversized squash.

Here is what the noodles look like.

I know many people think zucchini should be picked when small but we are finding that letting a zucchini get larger, just yields more food and it isn't tough. We have taken some of the larger ones and cored them, scraped the seeds and centers out, and tossed into the compost bucket. Then cube it and put it in vacuum sealed bags and freeze. No blanching is required. I have pulled out bags almost a year later, opened and sautéed in a skillet and it is perfect. When blanching, I have found it makes the squash mushy. I do think the Food Saver/vacuum method is perfect for saving squash. We also love the larger cubes. They are perfect for tossing in soups and sauces. We are convinced that washing well and leaving the peelings on just adds nutritional value.

Another idea for oversized zucchini is, stuffed zucchini boats. They also freeze well. I'll post the recipe for those soon.

My reason for sharing this is, maybe when you think a veggie is past its perfect picking time frame, there still may be good uses for it. One thing that is for certain, if it isn't perfect for us, our hens will be grateful. Those gals will eat just about anything from the garden that we need to toss.

So, if you have some overgrown zucchini, give this a try. I have also learned, slicing it lengthwise about 1/8 inch thick, makes a perfect substitute for lasagna noodles. If you want a healthy alternative to lasagna and a twist on flavor, check out my post using sweet potato as the filling instead of lots of unhealthy ricotta and cheese.  http://tnmamaw.blogspot.com/2013/01/healthy-and-delicious-yes-it-is-possible.html

I did make this using zucchini for the noodles just this past week and it was awesome. It does take about 45 minutes to an hour to bake. I covered it with foil for the first 35 minutes then removed the foil to finish for about 15 to 20 more minutes. It is such a delicious and healthy alternative to traditional lasagna. 

Just wanted to share our tips and hope you all find good uses for veggies that may be just a bit larger than ideal size.

Many blessings!