Soup is quite forgiving.  The world does not come crashing down when you realize you’ve left something out, don’t have quite enough of an ingredient, added your ingredients in the wrong order, or added more of something than directed.  Thank goodness, since almost all of those things happened to me!

Ben was not happy when I told him the tortellini soup had no tortellini.  Ben likes tortellini.  But he ate it anyway and I think he thought it was pretty good.  He had a bowl and a half, so it couldn’t have been that bad.  I really liked how chock full of veggies this soup was.  The amount of sausage made it just meaty enough and provided a nice flavor.  I added a huge handful of torn basil leaves right before serving and that was lovely.  I really enjoy fresh basil and am sad I will have to wait until next summer to grow some of my own.  I have attempted this before…and failed.  But every summer I try again.  Maybe this next time I’ll get it right and it won’t wither and die on me.

Here is the recipe, which was adapted more than just a little bit since I was not quite on top of things when I went grocery shopping.  I will try out the original recipe sometime and post that as well.  Enjoy!

Italian Sausage & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound ground Italian sausage (sweet, mild or hot)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 2 zucchini, cut into half moons
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 7 ounce can tomato sauce
• 5-6 cups broth (chicken or beef)
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup torn basil leaves
• Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  Brown sausage in a large pot or dutch oven, then drain meat on paper towels and set aside.
2. Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot and cook onions and garlic until softened, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, oregano, sausage, and salt & pepper to taste.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms, zucchini and more liquid if desired for a thinner soup.  Simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes.
5. Stir in basil and season again just before serving.  Serve with grated Parmesan.

So, is this quick, simple and clean-up free meal any good?  I thought so.  The recipe is from Eating Well and is full of vegetables.  I love when a meal is heavy on warm cooked veggies.  Having a salad can be a good way to get your daily amount of vegetables, but it can often become monotonous.  This is a good way to actually incorporate vegetables into your main course instead of having a separate salad with your meal.

I used more tomatoes than called for in the recipe, replaced the cubanelle pepper with an anaheim, and only used one shallot since the ones at the grocery store were monsters!  These guys were huge.  I also made the great error of leaving out the mustard.  This came to my attention as they were coming out of the oven…not the best timing.  So, I just spread some mustard onto the chicken after it was cooked, and all was well.  I am sure it would have been better had I remembered the mustard earlier, but it didn’t ruin dinner.  I served the chicken with white rice, and so the liquid that remained in the packets was a good sauce despite its thin consistency.  Since I had it on hand I used dried thyme, but I think that fresh would give this a much better flavor.

Overall, a good, tasty meal that can be scaled down to make a quick dinner for 2. If you’re like me, finding recipes and cooking for 2 is often a challenge, unless you want leftovers for the rest of the week.  A reviewer on eatingwell.com said she doubled the ingredients and cooked everything in a Dutch oven, so that is another way to go to serve a larger crowd.  Enjoy!

Chicken, Tomato & Zucchini Packets

From Eatingwell.com

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 sweet banana peppers, or cubanelle peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used 1 anaheim)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used 1)
• 1 1/2 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. For the foil packets you will need 4 pieces of foil, about 18 inches in length.
3. Place a chicken breast in the center of one piece of foil and spread with mustard.
4. Toss zucchini, peppers, shallots, tomatoes, oil, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place about 1 1/4 cups of the vegetable mixture on top of each piece of chicken.
5. Close the packet to cover the ingredients. Starting at the top, seal the packet by folding the edges together in a series of small, tight folds. Twist the tip of the packet and tuck it underneath to help keep the packet closed. Place the packets on a large rimmed baking sheet (packets may overlap slightly). Bake until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F, about 25 minutes. (Carefully open one package to check for doneness and be cautious of the steam.) Let the packets rest unopened for 5 minutes before serving.

I liked the crunch that the cornmeal provides, the clean flavor of the lemon and the moistness that the zucchini adds.  You can’t really taste the zucchini, so don’t let that deter you.  The cookie isn’t too sweet.  It would be nice with a cup of coffee or tea.  A nice afternoon treat!  Enjoy!

Lemon Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ¼  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 1 medium zucchini, grated on small holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
2. Stir in vanilla, almond, lemon zest, and salt.
3. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly.
4. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.
5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets.
6. Bake until cookies are light golden brown at edges, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
7. Let cool completely on wire racks.

If I would have been thinking more clearly I would have shredded half of the ginormous squash and then sliced the rest and grilled them or sauteed them to serve with the leftover mac and cheese.  We cannot change the past, so I decided to make zucchini fritters.  I looked at a few recipes.  All used shredded zucchini, at least one egg, flour, and salt and pepper.  From that base I found that the possibilities are endless.  Some recipes used Parmesan or other cheeses in the mix, some used panko or some type of bread crumbs, some used onions (scallions or red), and the seasonings that were used ranged from simple S&P to 6 different herbs in one recipe.  I mixed and matched based on what I had at home.

I do not fry food at home.  I will eat fried food, and I like it.  But I am not one of those girls who registered for a Fry Daddy when she got married, and Ben did not push for one!  So, even this shallow frying was new to me.  How hot should the oil be?  How much oil should I use?  I checked out some recipes and found 1/8 – 1/4 inch of oil to be the typical amount for frying these fritters.  I did not actually measure the depth, but it was enough to cover the bottom of the pan and was somewhere in this range, probably closer to 1/4 inch.  I found this to be a fine amount for these little rounds of tasy goodness!

Oh so tasty!  I used some feta cheese, scallions, salt and pepper and some dried dill in the fritters and thought they were great.  I served them with sour cream, a great garnish and complement to the fritter.  I would like to try these with parmesan cheese and basil next time?  Or simple fritters with no cheese or extra herbs?  Decisions, decisions…

Zucchini Fritters

• 2 medium to large zucchini coarsely grated (about 2-3 cups)
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 Tablespoons bread crumbs
• salt and pepper

1. Put the grated zucchini in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt.  Let sit and drain for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Remove the zucchini by the handful, squeezing to remove as much liquid as you can.
3. Mix zucchini in a bowl with feta, green onions and dill.  Mix lightly with a fork.  Add the lightly beaten egg and stir.  Add flour and bread crumbs.  The mixture should be wet but not watery.  Mix in salt and pepper to taste.
4. Heat olive oil in a pan about 1/8 inch deep covering the entire pan.  When hot, scoop out a spoonful of the zucchini mixture and put it in the pan.
5. Let it cook about 3-4 minutes or until brown and then flip them.  Cook another 3-4 minutes until browned.
6. Remove fritters and place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove some excess oil.  Serve hot with sour cream.

Back to the huge zucchini.  I really wish I’d weighed this monster before using it yesterday.  Just use this picture as proof…it was a big vegetable.

Ginger was scared of it.  I took it out of the fridge and when I turned around she saw it and tucked her tail in between her legs and ran out of the kitchen.  Strange.

This recipe is from Paula Deen, which explains the odd mixing techniques and large amounts of sugar, oil, and eggs.  The ingredients were simple.  I resisted the urge to add pineapple or chocolate chips.  I’m glad that I did because I enjoyed the simple flavor of the zucchini and the rich pecans.  Sometimes simple can be perfect.

I sugared the pans after greasing them, a new favorite trick that gives the bread a nice crunchy, sweet exterior.  I had mixed up some cinnamon sugar for the rice pudding last week, so I used the cinnamon sugar in one of the pans, so that loaf was a little extra special.

The memories of the Amish bread catastrophe made my palms get all sweaty when it came time to remove the bread from the pans.  Hooray!  Only one little corner of the bread remained this time.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, greased and sugared, for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.