Last week I picked our first zucchini of the season and then 4 more came the next day. Whew! Some people know this part of summer as lock your door or watch your doorstep season because somebody may just drop off a basket full of zucchini.
We always go on about zucchini growing like a weed and how we don’t know what to do with all the zucchinis. You’d think maybe we should stop planting it but then we wouldn’t get any of the few treats and dishes that we love that need zucchini. For us this means zucchini hotdish and zucchini bread. I would like to try a zucchini chocolate cake again… the first time I tried zucchini cake it was so dense and wet that it basically was inedible. Maybe with sourdough it would be better!
We made our favorite Zucchini Hotdish already and I had some leftover San Marzano tomatoes from pizza making so I used them in the hotdish and loved how it worked in and made it a richer sauce. I love that San Marzano’s are less acidic and saucier. If you want, you can use San Marzano’s in the zucchini recipe and try it for yourself! I planted San Marzano’s in my garden this year and I’m excited to see how they do. I’d like to can some of them for chili, pizza and such this winter.
Zucchini Hamburger Hotdish
1 lb. hamburger
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups beef broth
1 jar (28 oz) tomatoes
2 ½ cups pasta, penne or farfalle
2 cups zucchini, sliced about 1 medium zucchini
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ cup shredded parmesan
Instructions:
In a large skillet fry the hamburger on medium heat, adding in the salt, pepper, onion, and garlic as it is cooking. Continue cooking until the meat is thoroughly done. Drain grease from hamburger into a small bowl and discard that grease.
Return the pan to a medium-high heat and add the broth, Italian seasoning, tomatoes, and pasta. Push the pasta into the liquid so that it is covered by the liquid. Next prepare the zucchini and add that to the boiling mixture. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for around 15 minutes longer.
Next add the parmesan and heat through. Serve with parmesan on the side. Enjoy!
The picture I included is from a crop check this week. The canola is in full bloom! Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great week! For more recipes and life on the farm check out thefarmchicken.com!
Mariah Nienhuis | TheFarmChicken
