Garden How-To: What To Do With All Your Zucchini?

It's zucchini harvest season. It's my first zucchini harvest season ever in my life. Sure, I grew up with a gardening mother and she grew zucchini, and I reaped the benefits (garden puns are hilarious right?). 

This is my first year growing it myself. I practically shrieked for joy when the first blooms appeared. I even ignored all the blogs that talk about how you end up leaving zucchini on neighbors' doorsteps because they're so prolific. All the gardener sites said not to over plant, 1 or 2 plants is enough for a family. I got excited, though, when every seed sprouted. So, I kept 4! I mean, I'm growing them in pots so they won't be as prolific, right?

WRONG.

I have already gotten about twenty of them! WHAT on earth am I going to do with twenty zucchinis? Zucchini lasts for about a week in the fridge, sometimes longer if your fridge is great, or you're lucky. How am I going to eat them all before they rot and/or we get so sick of zucchini we run for the hills and let it grow wild? I took to the internet, the great and powerful internet, and found a lot of really great ideas.

Get ready, because here are a lot of great tips from other fellow gardeners and a few ideas of my own.

STORAGE IDEAS

1. How-To Freeze Zucchini - The Kitchn (I did this one with half of my harvest already, and have about 4 more to do!)

2. A bunch of ways to store zucchini can be found here

RECIPES

1. Steak with Golden Zucchini - Real Simple

2. Feta Chicken with Zucchini - Real Simple

3. Sauteed Zucchini - Real Simple (I make a version of this as a side for almost any  meal, sometimes even as a side for sandwiches. Really great option.)

4. Zucchini Bread - The Kitchn

5. Grilled Zucchini Rollups With Ricotta and Herbs - The Kitchn

6. Zucchini Noodles with Tomatoes and Corn - The Kitchn

7. I make soups with zucchini, and there is no exact recipe. I do beef or chicken broth, ground beef or shredded chicken, chopped zucchini, can of diced tomatoes (juice and all), seasonings of choice, and any other vegetables and/or pastas or rices of your choice.  My favorite combo so far is beef broth, ground beef, kale, corn, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and maybe an alphabet pasta or red beans. I never measure, I just do enough to feed us both and make it as chunky or as soupy as I feel inclined to.

++ What other zucchini ideas do you have?

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