Iron Chef: Zucchini!

What fun I had today. I decided to use my bounty of zucchini to prepare a meal in true Iron Chef fashion.

I chopped, I cubed and I shredded away in preparation of what was to come.

For my main dish, I decided on a zucchini/ground turkey meatloaf. I added tomatoes, rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, and my signature spice blend along with a bit of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. I combined bread crumbs, chopped onion, garlic, a touch of lemon zest, shredded parmesan cheese and some feta to the mix. I baked at 350 for an hour and ended up with a delightfully moist loaf.

Borrowing from ChristineM's post about her Savory Zucchini Muffins, we made our own savory zucchini muffins with what ingredients we had on hand: basic muffin ingredients of flour, baking powder and salt for the dry mix. To that I added my signature spice blend and red pepper flakes. The wet ingredients included a touch of sugar, egg, half and half, "green" Tobasco Sauce, chives, garlic and some white cheddar cheese, and of course, the zucchini. This was the 1st time I "winged it" and went without measuring or using a recipe. They actually ended up pretty decent. It tasted more like a bread than a muffin, however. Next time I'll use more cheese, though.

Our side dish was a roasted zucchini and garden veggie medley that I marinaded in olive oil, rosemary, sage, signature spice blend, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Simply yummy.

For dessert I was attempting a zucchini chocolate banana nut ice cream utilizing the concept of Five Minute Ice Cream from All Recipes. Instead, I ended up with a pretty tasty milkshake.

This was a fun experiment and the family enjoyed the results. The zucchini was never overpowering in any of the dishes and each dish was unique. I do believe I can call this experiment a success!