Freezing the Zucchini

I took out the food processor and shredded EIGHT cups of fresh zucchini.

Knowing that my two best freezer recipes for Zucchini require shredded zucchini, I am maximizing my time washing dishes by shredding it all at the same time.

2 cups of Zucchini go in each batch of Paula Deen's recipe.  I am making two batches.  Here is what I posted last June about Zucchini Bread:

"Zucchini Bread.  Make extra batches and freeze them for the holidays, house warming gifts, or when a friend has a new baby you can take over a breakfast dish for sleep deprived mom and dad.  I like hosting friends every year at Christmas for a holiday brunch. As with last year, I will already have one dish made and ready to thaw - the zucchini bread.  Paula Deen's recipe is my favorite:"
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/zucchini-bread-recipe/index.html

I have already taken one loaf to a friend who had knee replacement surgery yesterday and the other three are in the freezer. (One of which is on hold waiting for Baby Covington to arrive!!!! It is a proven fact that a slice of zucchini bread in the microwave with a little butter can help with the raging hormones post-natal.)



The other four cups of shredded zucchini will be used in my meatball recipe.  Cook them, freeze them, then serve with whole wheat spaghetti and sauce in the fall on a busy night!!  Success!

From This Blog:

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summer Meatball

Sneaking in zucchini, this kid friendly recipe is also healthy.
It is easy to make all four batches at once so that you can prepare dinner and freeze three batches for later. For each batch of meatballs you will need:

1 pound of ground turkey
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayo
1/3  cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup of grated zucchini (for all four batches you will need about 3 medium zucchini)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together.
Place a cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet. Form one inch meatballs and place them onto the cooling rack. This allows the grease to drip through the meatball and keep it crisp while baking.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are brown and hard.
Using a fork, lift the meatball off the cooling rack and place into a freezer safe container till ready to eat.

The meatballs will have cooked and formed to the rack and will leave lines. However, cooking them this way allows you to cook an entire batch at one time without using a lot of oil and smoking up the kitchen.

To serve: Thaw if frozen. Place meatballs into a large fry pan with a jar of marinara of your choice. Reheat over medium heat for 15 minutes or when sauce begins to bubble.  Serve over pasta.