In Memory of Mother: Creamed Zucchini

"Creamed" Zucchini from Mom
(Recipe originally from Jon Ostler's Mom)

8 cups fresh zucchini, diced in 2" pieces
(or use half zucchini and half yellow summer squash)
1/4 cup powdered coffee creamer
(Coffee-Mate brand preferred)
1/4 stick butter (or less)
salt or Veg-sal to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Put diced zucchini in large pan and cover with water. Cook at low boil until zucchini is very fork-tender, but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes. Drain zucchini in colander for 3-4 minutes, then put back in pan you cooked it in. Add butter, then mash zucchini a few times with a potato masher (just enough to release water and break it into chunks, but not enough to get a completely mashed consistency). Put in coffee creamer and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper, stir a few times, then turn heat back on and cook zucchini about 3 minutes more, until all coffee creamer is dissolved and dish is piping hot. Serve immediately.

Hope everyone has a lot of zucchini in their garden so they can make some!
Love,
Kalyn

Family Favorite Recipes: Cafe Rio Pork

Someone left this recipe in a comment on my blog, and I thought others might like to have it. It's definitely not South Beach friendly with the Coca Cola and brown sugar, but it did sound to me like it would be very good. (I rewrote the recipe a little so it's in more standard recipe form, but the ingredients are just as the person left it in the comment.)

Cafe Rio Pork
(Recipe from Shannon Peterson of Orem, in case anyone knows her.)

3 lb. pork roast
16 oz. salsa
1 can of Coca Cola
2 cups brown sugar
water
½ pack of fajita seasoning
1 can green chilies
2 tablespoons of taco seasoning

Fill crock pot with just the roast, and fill it half way with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Take the pork out after the 5 hours, and drain the liquid down the drain.

Cut the roast into 3 or 4 sections and place back into the crock pot. Puree the salsa in the blender and transfer to a bowl. Add the Coke and brown sugar and mix. Pour over the roast and cook on high for 2 more hours.

Add fajita seasoning, 1 can green chilies, and about 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning to crock pot and cook one more hour. Drain liquid into pan and reduce to a thick sauce. Shred pork with a fork, and serve with the sauce.

Kalyn's Pasta Salad with Italian Sausage, Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Olives

This is the pasta salad I made for Stuart's party and several people wanted the recipe. Not a great photo, but this is a great recipe. You can see the recipe with step-by-step photos on my blog if you'd like them, but I'm publishing the shorter version here.

Pasta Salad with Italian Sausage, Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Olives
(Makes 6-8 servings, recipe created by Kalyn.)

3 cups (dry) Dreamfield's Penne (about 2/3 box)
5 links turkey Italian Sausage (hot or mild, but I like hot)
1 can pitted black olives
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red bell peppers
2-3 small zucchini, cut in fourths lengthwise, then sliced
1 cup Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar salad dressing
(or use your favorite bottled Italian dressing without sugar)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used frozen basil from last summer)
1 T dried basil
1/2 cup finely-grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup coarsely-grated parmesan cheese

Wash fresh basil and chop finely. Mix fresh basil and dried basil into Paul Newman's dressing. (If you can do this earlier in the day it would be best.)

Cut zucchini lengthwise into fourths, then cut into pieces about 3/4 inch long. Cook zucchini about 5 minutes in boiling, salted water, then drain well and cool. Put zucchini into small Ziploc bag with a small amount of the dressing. (This is also best done a few hours before making the salad.)

Saute sausage in small amount of olive oil in large frying pan until it is starting to get firm. Remove from pan and cut in fourths lengthwise, then in slices slightly less than 1/2 inch thick. Drain any accumulated fat from pan, then put sausage pieces back and saute 5-10 minutes more, or until sausage is slightly browned on all sides. Drain and cool cooked sausage in colander.

While sausage is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta 9-10 minutes, or until still slightly al dente. (Be careful not to cook it until it is soft or it will be mushy in the salad. Slightly underdone is better than overdone if you're not sure.) Don't rinse pasta, but drain in colander and let cool.

Cut olives in half lengthwise and cut red pepper into pieces the same size as olives and put into salad bowl. When pasta is slightly cooled, mix pasta and and sausage into olive/pepper mixture. Add zucchini and any dressing which is in the bag. Add most of dressing mixture and 1/2 cup regular parmesan cheese and mix gently. Chill 1 hour or more. Just before serving mix in rest of dressing if needed, and top salad with coarsely-grated parmesan. This will keep for a day or so in the refrigerator, but you might need to add a little extra dressing before serving the leftovers.

Family Favorite Recipes: Shrimp and Macaroni Salad

(I posted this recipe on my blog today and thought people might like to have it here too for those who love the recipe.)

Shrimp and Macaroni Salad
(Makes 4-6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn years ago and later updated for the South Beach Diet.)

1 cup (dry) Dreamfields macaroni
2 cups thawed frozen precooked shrimp, cut in 1/2" pieces (save some of the juice)
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup sliced green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
2/3 cup mayo (or use 1/3 cup light mayo and 1/3 cup regular mayo, do not use fat free)
1 T reduced shrimp "juice" (Liquid saved when draining shrimp which has been boiled to concentrate the flavor)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. whole celery seed

Thaw shrimp overnight in refrigerator, keeping it in the bag so you can catch the "juice" when you open it. (In a pinch you can also thaw it inside the bag in a bowl of barely warm water.) Drain shrimp well, reserving the liquid that accumulates in bag. (I usually dry shrimp with a paper towel if they are quite wet.)

Put liquid drained from shrimp in small saucepan and simmer until reduced by at least half. (This is the concentrate the shrimp flavor and evaporate the water.)

Cook macaroni in large pot of salted, boiling water for about 9-10 minutes, or until soft but still slightly chewy. Be careful not to overcook. Drain macaroni and cool, but don't rinse.

While macaroni cooks, dice shrimp, celery, and green onions and put in bowl with a snap-on lid. Mix dressing ingredients together. When macaroni is cool, mix it into shrimp mixture in bowl, then gently fold in dressing. (You may not need all the dressing if you prefer your salads to be more dry.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. This is best if chilled a few hours before serving. Will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

I have made this with small "salad " shrimp or larger medium shrimp, but I greatly prefer the flavor and texture of the larger shrimp. I cut each medium shrimp into about 4 pieces. You could add other ingredients like olives, diced red peppers, cucumbers, or hard-boiled eggs to this recipe.