Zucchini Tostadas with Chorizo

As I write this, four giant zucchini are mocking me from my refrigerator. It is imperative that something be done about them so that I can clear the way for the apple and pumpkin season. As I am not one to waste food, it is time to get creative.

A simple search for zucchini on Pinterest brings up hundreds of interesting ideas. Stuffed, fried, baked, sweet, savory and just plain weird...you can find it all. One idea that caught my eye was for a zucchini pizza casserole that used a combination of zucchini and cheese for the crust. Baked cheese? This had possibilities.

Of course I had to come up with something a little different and, since the hubby was in the mood for Mexican food, I decided to transform the idea into...wait for it....as if you couldn't guess from the picture....Tostadas!

I swear it's starting to multiply in my fridge.

Zucchini Tostadas with Chorizo

Printable Recipe

Tostadas:
4 cups shredded zucchini

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 teaspoons Mexican seasoning

Toppings:

3-4 chorizo sausages, casings removed

2 cups shredded lettuce

1 avocado, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

½ cup sour cream

½ cup sliced black olives

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F; line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Let the zucchini stand for 10 minutes. Squeeze as much liquid from the zucchini as possible and place in a large bowl.  Add the eggs, cheeses, and Mexican seasoning. Stir together until well-blended.

Make sure to squeeze out all of the excess moisture...there's a lot of water in there!

Divide the zucchini mixture into 6 portions onto the parchment paper (a scant ½ cup each). Use a spatula to spread each portion into a 5-inch circle. Bake the zucchini for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and gently turn each portion over. Continue to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until firm and golden

.

While the zucchini is baking, break the sausage up into a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

To assemble, place the zucchini tostadas on individual serving plates. Layer each tostada with an equal portion of lettuce, sausage, avocado, diced tomato, sour cream, olives, and cheese. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Aren't these fun? Of course, you can add or subtract any toppings you want...my daughter had the tostada with just salsa.

The "tostadas" were not crisp, but they weren't rubbery either. I was surprised at how good they tasted...must be all of the cheese. My husband and my daughter both gobbled them up and put in a request for more, so I guess this recipe is a keeper!

What do you make with your zucchini?

Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich....

......Using Nature’s Pride® Oven Classics bread

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's Program, I was sent a couple loaves of Nature’s Pride® Oven Classics bread--the 100% Whole Wheat and the Oven Classics Oatmeal....to give them a whirl. I do so love getting stuff in the mail. My whole family loves it when I get stuff in the mail. Yes, even loaves of bread.



Of course, first we had to read the labels. Pete's ears perked up when he saw that the oatmeal bread had 40% less sodium than regular oatmeal bread. And Taylor will only eat whole wheat bread, so she had dibs on that. My mother-in-law only likes a certain chemical infused white bread that shall remain nameless. I didn't think she would be interested. Mybad. She ate half of the loaf of oatmeal bread before I could blink.

Now, what to make? I was kind of in the mood for a BLT, so I picked up some bacon (cover your ears, Taylor--you can put jelly on your slice).....

.....And some tomatoes....

......and an avocado (not a big fan of lettuce on sandwiches).

I toasted the bread (not that it needed it...it was nice and soft for whole grain bread) and fried some bacon until it was nice and crispy. Why is it that someone always eats the bacon before I can get it into the sandwich? Then I slathered it with mayonnaise (only the real deal...no miracle whip) and layered it with tomato slices and avocado. Oh, don't forget some pepper.

And then I made Pete wait for his sandwich so I could take some pictures. :-D

...he's still waiting....

I made mine on what was left of the oatmeal bread. Dang...someone ate half of the bacon I set aside for my sandwich....perhaps he had to wait too long.

I'll definitely be getting this bread again. Healthy for you and tastes good...can't beat that combo....

"Holy Moly Guacamole" Avocado Cupcakes

 I can't seem to leave well enough alone. There was another avocado beckoning me. I had to do it. I had to make a sweet treat out of it. The trouble was, I was running out of time....deadlines were looming. Aaack---the pressure! I reached for a cake mix.....

All the while I was thinking and dreaming about Avocados from Mexico, I couldn't help but notice how really adaptable this tasty, green fruit is. Sweet, savory---it really didn't matter----the avocado seems to compliment many flavors. I was especially interested in trying out some citrus flavors with it. How apropos, then, that the cake mix in my hand was lemon flavored. Since avocados have the good fat, I omitted the oil from the recipe and thought to replace the water with some tangy buttermilk. Then, to top things off, a good dose of orange cream cheese icing. Oh. My. Goodness. Easy and delish. And cute, too! Just have a look see:

"Holy Moly Guacamole" Avocado Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes:

1 ripe avocado, peeled and seeded
¾ cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 box (18.25 oz) lemon flavored cake mix

Orange Cream Cheese Icing:

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with liners.

Combine the avocado and the buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until mixture is nearly smooth. Add the eggs and the cake mix and continue to beat for an additional 2 minutes. Spoon batter into 24 cupcake liners; bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, orange peel and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. With a hand mixer, beat until smooth. Add the orange juice, blending well. Stir the powdered sugar into the mixture and then beat until smooth, adding additional sugar until desired consistency is reached. If icing becomes too thick, add more orange juice, a teaspoon at a time. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Seriously good. Seriously easy to make. Do it.

Avocado-Bacon Scones with Smokey Tomato Butter

The challenge: to create an original recipe showcasing avocados from Mexico in a new and different way. No tacos, no cilantro, no salsa....emphasis on new and different. Was I up for it? You betcha! Did I know what I was doing. No way! Did it work anyway? Yup!

It's funny how I go about creating recipes sometimes. I think up a name first. Scones were on my mind lately--I had just had a really tasty, albeit caloric little sucker, from, of all places, Target. They carry little mini-scones in some pretty tasty variations. So, as I was digesting my tasty little morsel (honey-almond, I believe), I was thinking about how I could make an avocado into a scone. It would have to be savory and have a really cool sounding spread to go on top. Hmmm....avocados, tomatoes, bacon, onions, chives....I could make this work. Plus---avocados (from Mexico!) were on sale for a dollar apiece! The fates were with me.....

Truth be told, I've never in my life made a scone. This meant that a little research was in order. Oh, I googled "avocado scone" and nothing much came up (which was kind of good, seeing that this had to be original). I figured that avocados kind of had the consistency of a banana, so I started there. When it was all said and done, this is what I came up with:

Avocado-Bacon Scones with Smokey Tomato Butter

Printable Recipe

Smokey Tomato Butter

1 plum tomato
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon chopped chives
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Avocado-Bacon Scones

4 thick slices bacon
1 ripe avocado
½ cup buttermilk, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped chives
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Coarse salt for sprinkling



Cut an X into the bottom of the tomato. Blanche the tomato in a pan of boiling water for 10 seconds, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. Peel and core the tomato, remove the seeds and chop coarsely. Place the chopped tomato into the bowl of a food processor, along with ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon chives, ½ teaspoon liquid smoke and ¼ teaspoon sea salt. Pulse until well-blended. Set aside.

My daughter gave me a food processor for Mother's Day....I had to put it to good use. I imagine that you could blend the butter mixture with a hand mixer or a blender.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Fry the bacon until crisp; crumble and set aside.

Mash the avocado in a small bowl; stir in 1/2 cup buttermilk and the chives.

Into a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt; add the butter and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

I also used the food processor to blend the butter into the flour mixture...I went ahead and put the bacon and chives in with the flour and blended it all together. I'm guessing that not everyone will want to use a food processor, though, so I wrote the recipe as if I still didn't have one.

Stir in the crumbled bacon and then add the avocado mixture, stirring until the mixture is sticky, yet manageable. If the dough is too sticky, add additional flour, one tablespoon at a time. If too dry, add more buttermilk. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for just a few seconds. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a circle, about 6 inches in diameter. Place the circles of dough on a large baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and separate slightly. Brush each wedge with buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Many of the scone recipes I was looking at used heavy cream to make a nice crumb. I chose buttermilk since the avocado provides some good healthy fats (we'll ignore the fact that I also put bacon and butter in there, lol).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just starting to turn brown. Serve warm with tomato butter.

They weren't as green as I thought they would be. Probably a good thing....

All in all, a pretty tasty little appetizer....or bread course to serve with a salad....or a good side to have with soup....

Faux Philly Cheese "Steak" Sandwiches

When Pete and I lived in San Diego, so long ago, there was a little hole in the wall restaurant, actually just a sandwich shop, that sold authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. The husband and wife who owned this delectable little shop were actually transplants from Philadelphia, so we had to take their word for the authenticity of their sandwiches, since we had never experienced these wonderful, cheesy, oniony, heavenly creations. Now you see them all over the place---even in any shopping mall's food court. We never did find any that we liked as well, however. For a time, I even resorted to using Steak-ums (those very thin, frozen steaks) to make my own sandwiches....not bad, but not great either. So, this weekend, wanting to fulfill a craving, I thought about those sandwiches and what it was about them that I liked so well. Guess what? It really wasn't the steak (although I am, most definitely, a carnivore)  that made this sandwich so tasty for me. I discovered that it was the combination of the caramelized onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and melty cheese on top of a very good roll, that made the sandwich. Since I really wanted to make something that my meatless daughter would eat, it occurred to me that an avocado might just make a good substitute for the steak. Boy howdy...does it ever! This is what I came up with:

Faux Philly Cheese "Steak" Sandwiches with Lemon-Dill Mayo

Printable Recipe

Mayo:

¼ cup light mayonnaise
¼ cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh or freeze dried dill
½ teaspoon salt-free lemon pepper seasoning

Sandwiches:

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium, sweet onions chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
4 hoagie rolls, split
8 thin slices provolone cheese
2 ripe (not mushy), avocados, sliced
1 tomato, sliced (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill and lemon/pepper; set aside.
 

My husband liked this mayo stuff so much it was gone before I had a chance to spread it on the sandwiches. He was sitting on the sofa dipping chips into it.....

I'm not afraid to use convenience food. I found this freeze- dried dill in the produce section. It's perfect for me since it needs no refrigeration and it won't spoil by the time I decide to use it. It was a bonus that it tasted good, too!

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and allow it to heat for a minute or two. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, red bell peppers and green peppers. Sprinkle with sugar and cook for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, mushrooms and salt and pepper. Cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until mixture is caramelized.

I didn't really measure the olive oil...just eyeballed it.

You can use just green bell peppers if you want. I just like the color of the red.

Push the onion/pepper mixture to one side of the pan and place a split hoagie roll on top of some of the hot oil, to brown the roll; remove from pan. Spread the toasted roll with about a tablespoon of mayo. Arrange about one half of an avocado on the bottom part of the roll; set aside.

The reason I used such a large skillet was so that I could push the onion mixture around and toast the buns in the olive oil. If there isn't enough oil, just brush a little on each roll before you toast them in the pan.

Working with ¼ onion mixture at a time, cover it with two slices provolone cheese. Allow the cheese to melt slightly and then, using a spatula, carefully lift the portion of cheese/onion onto the avocado. Top with tomato, if desired, sprinkle with a little more pepper and serve. Repeat with remaining rolls.

It has taken me many years, but I finally figured out the way to take the pit out of the avocado. Stick a knife in it and twist.

A Philly Cheese "Steak" with no meat. How cool is that?