Pizza Zucchini Casserole - Home Cooked Recipe #82

Do you love pizza? I love pizza! Most people I know are a fan of pizza. Also, most people I know have gone low carb or keto lately. This is a perfect recipe for those kind of diets! And it's pizza flavored! This recipe is also versatile, because you could really dress it up with your favorite pizza toppings. You could make it a meat lovers by adding sausage, bacon, ham, ground beef, etc. You could make it a supreme by adding bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc. If you don't like tomato sauce, use alfredo sauce. Use the recipe as a base and use your imagination to top it the way you would your favorite pizza!

Pizza Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini, shredded
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup pizza or marinara sauce (make your own or use store bought)
• 1 cup parmesan
• 2 cups mozzarella
• 1/2 package pepperoni (I use Armour, it has a nice, spicy kick)
• salt & pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. *Tip make sure you squeeze out excess moisture in the zucchini first. I like to lay mine on some paper towels and leave it for an hour or so. Super easy* Mix together in a large bowl the zucchini, eggs, parmesan, salt, pepper, & 1/2 the mozzarella (1 cup). Press mixture into a 9x13 pan and bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and top with pizza sauce, cheese, and then pepperoni. Place back into the oven and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Tunisian Shrimp Stew - Pinterest Pick #14

One of my goals for 2016 was to try a new food, and I picked Harissa.  It is a spicy Moroccan pepper paste.  I got mine at Whole Foods, the ONLY place I could find it in the metro Orlando area.  It is delicious!  If you recall, I also used it in one of the fillings for my beef hand pies.  I decided to give it another application by using it in the stew I found on Pinterest.  You can find the original Pin HERE and the original recipe HERE. The original recipe uses cod instead of shrimp, but really you can easily adapt it to whatever protein you prefer.  I like shellfish better than regular fish, and I had some on hand already.  So shrimp it was.  I also left out the turnips because, well, I have never tried them before and figured there was enough veggies.  This is a very light and healthy dish that makes for a fairly quick weeknight dinner.

Tunisian Shrimp Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz bag peeled and deveined shrimp
• 2 zucchini, sliced into half rounds
• 2 red potatoes, diced into small pieces
• 3 carrots, chopped into rounds
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 3 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon harissa (start there and add more depending on your love of spice)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Directions:
In a soup pot, heat 2 tbs olive oil and then saute garlic and onions for 5 minutes.  Add in tomato paste and let cook for a minute or two.  Add in cumin, salt, pepper, and harissa.  Stir for one minute.  Put in carrots and potatoes and saute for two minutes.  Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook 10 minutes then add in zucchini.  Cook another 5 minutes then add in shrimp.  Let simmer for 10 more minutes then serve.
Enjoy! 

Simply Sides 6 - Zucchini Casserole

Summer is a great time for squash.  Zucchini and yellow squash are abundant in gardens and in the supermarket.  I grew up eating squash and think it's a great vegetable.  I'm always looking for new side dishes, and with squash so prevalent I started perusing recipes to find something new to do with squash.  I came across a recipe for a cheesy squash casserole and had to try it.  I hope you like it as much as I did!

Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
Ingredients:
2 zucchini, sliced in to discs (you can also do this with yellow squash, or one yellow squash, & one zucchini)
8 oz shredded cheddar
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/3 and 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Saute onions and garlic in oil for 6-8 minutes until tender and translucent.
Add zucchini and saute for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper. Let mixture cool.
Add 1/4 parmesan, 1/3 cup bread crumb, and cheddar cheese to zucchini mixture.  Combine well and place in baking dish.
Sprinkle top with 1/4 cup bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Turn oven to broiler and broil for 3-4 minutes, keeping a close eye on the casserole so bread crumbs don't burn.

Enjoy!