From (A)pples to (Z)ucchini

Some of you may be lucky enough to be harvesting some crops from your home gardens by now. 

Namely, summer squash like straightneck yellow squash & zucchini.

Zucchini & yellow squash have a shorter growing season than a lot of other crops, so even with the Mother’s Day Freeze of 2020, if you were careful, you could be swimming in squash by now! Zucchini takes 35-55 days from planting to be ready to harvest- the fruit can grow up to 2″ per day! 

If that’s the case, and we certainly hope it is, we’d like to share two *very* popular recipes from one of our very own: Ken & Sandy Burger often enjoy “Sandy’s Super Simple Squash Boats” with Zucchini Cobbler (but it tastes just like apple!) for dessert during the summer months. 

Give these a try with your next harvest, and let us know what you think! If you’ve got a favorite zucchini or squash recipe, feel free to share it with us! 

For some additional reading about squash & zucchini- we’ve included this link to one of our favorite resources, The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Read more below for the recipes:

Zucchini blossoms pave the way for zucchini cobbler

Sandy’s Super Simple Squash Boats

1) Cut fresh yellow straight neck squash or 6″-7″ zucchini in half long ways

2) Scoop out seeds and pulp to make a canoe/boat; discard seeds.  You can add the pulp back into the ground beef mix later if you want to, but not required.

3) Spray olive oil in the bottom of a glass baking dish, place vegetable boat in baking dish and drizzle lightly with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 for approximately 20 – 25 minutes.  (Boat will turn soft and turn wrinkly)

4) Brown 1lb ground beef in a skillet, drain grease, and then add 1/2 cup water, 1 – 1 oz package of McCormick Original Taco seasoning and stir.

5) Microwave 1 package of Birds Eye seasoned Southwestern Style Rice with corn, peppers and onions (Cooks in the bag – Follow package instructions on cooking time)

6) Add rice mix to ground beef mix and stir together

7) Place beef/rice mixture in boat and top with shredded cheese

8) Place back in the oven for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until boats are soft and top is golden brown

9) Serve with a little dollop of sour cream and a little salsa for a real kicker (Sandy also makes great salsa, maybe she’ll let us share that recipe a little later in the season.) 

Zucchini Cobbler – courtesy of Teah English, Food.com