Zucchini Lasagna & Gluten Free Italian Breadsticks

When I first went gluten free, I was so worried about finding replacement pasta. There are plenty of gluten free pasta options out there that taste great. I have plenty in my cabinets but I find myself trying different alternatives. I really like replacing pasta with different types of squash. Sliced zucchini is a fantastic replacement for lasagna noodles. It is low fat, low carb, grain free, gluten free, etc. It softens up nicely while baking and makes gives the dish and extra boost of flavor. We made this vegan but you could easily add ground beef or turkey to make it a little heartier. As always, you can substitute regular cheese for the dairy free kind. Serves 4-6

1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into 12 slices lengthwise (use a mandolin!)

1-2 cups pasta sauce

½ cup mushrooms, diced

1 cup swiss chard, kale or spinach, chopped (use a combination!)

¼ cup diced onion

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp parsley

½ tsp basil

2 cups shredded dairy free cheese (I like Daiya brand)

• In a large skillet, sauté onion, mushrooms, chard and garlic in olive oil. 
• In a 9x9 baking pan, spread about 1 Tbsp of pasta sauce. Place 4 slices of zucchini over sauce. Top with ½ of the mushroom mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over veggies. Top with about ¼ cup pasta sauce. Repeat layers one more time. 
• Top with the final 4 slices of zucchini and any remaining pasta sauce (as much or little as you desire). Top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle over basil and parsley. 
• Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown. Let cool about 10-15 minutes before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

GLUTEN FREE ITALIAN BREADSTICKS

Just saying – these go PERFECT with my Zucchini Lasagna. These are lightly and fluffy but still filling and as always, gluten free. These are actually made with non-soy flours and no dairy as well. My biggest suggestion with these is that you form them nicely, otherwise they can look like many things, some not so appealing. Either way they still taste great! Customize your toppings to what you like!

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup amaranth flour

¾ cup potato starch

¾ cup tapioca starch

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp basil

1 pkt of active yeast

1 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar or honey

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

additional basil or other seasonings for topping

• In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water. Whisk together and let sit for 5 minutes to let yeast activate. 
• In a large mixing bowl, combine rice flour, amaranth flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt and basil. Add in olive oil, vinegar and yeast mixture until and mix over medium-high speed for about 30 seconds or until dough ball forms. 
• Separate dough into small dough balls and form into bread sticks (I made about 8 medium sized breadsticks. The best trick to this is to have wet or lightly floured hands to help keep dough from sticking to you. 
• Lay breadsticks onto a greased baking sheet. Let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. Brush with olive oil and add any desired toppings (Salt, pepper, seasonings, cheese, etc) 
• Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Best if served immediately.

Zucchini Pasta with Secret Ingredient Alfredo

Any recipe with the title “secret ingredient” may raise some eyebrows but I’m hoping your curiosity will give the desire to give this recipe a try. Zucchini pasta is a nice, low carb, low fat, naturally gluten free substitute for pasta. I used my veggie spiral cutter to create “pasta” out of the zucchini and squash. Now, for the secret ingredient…. CAULIFLOWER! Yes, believe it or not, cauliflower has the ability to taste so different depending on what you do with it. Cauliflower in pizza crust is awesome; cauliflower steamed plain.. not so much. Cauliflower smells awful cooked but aside from that, it takes on a variety of flavors in recipes. In this recipe, the cauliflower takes on a wonderful garlic flavor that in a strange way resembles alfredo sauce. The best part is there is no heavy cream, fatty milk, etc in the sauce so you can feel good about eating it. The next best part is that this recipe is completely natural/vegan/paleo/etc. I served some grilled chicken on top of ours but shrimp would work well too. Also, it tastes just great without meat or cheese for those eating a vegan diets. This makes 4 servings.

1 small to medium zucchini, ends removed, spiral cut

1 small to medium yellow squash, ends removed, spiral cut
1 tsp sea salt
Alfredo Sauce
1 small head of cauliflower, steamed
1 cup vegetable broth
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
1 tsp chives
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ cup almond milk
¼ cup shredded cheese, if desired
Parsley, if desired

• In a medium saucepan, combine zucchini and squash spirals, cover with water and bring to boiling. Add in sea salt and continue boiling for about 7-8 minutes or until spirals are soft.
• Meanwhile, puree steamed cauliflower and vegetable broth in a high powered blender until smooth.
• Pour puree into a medium saucepan and add in garlic, chives, salt, pepper and milk. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Add in shredded cheese if desired and let set so cheese can melt.
• Place vegetable spirals onto a plate, top with sauce and sprinkle with parsley. 

Zucchini Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Remember how crazy my cauliflower pizza crust sounded?? Adding zucchini probably won’t make you less skeptical. However, it is awesome! I don’t exactly understand how forming cauliflower into a pizza crust makes it taste less like cauliflower but I’m glad it does! If you can get past the smell of cooking it, this pizza crust is a great alternative to dough crusts. Making pizza crust this way gives you tons of extra nutrients and added vegetable servings. It is also very low carb, low fat, gluten free, dairy free, and can be made Paleo. Makes 2 small circular crusts or 1 large square crust.

1 large zucchini, shredded (about 1 cup)

½ head of cauliflower, riced (about ½ cup)
1 egg (or equivalent egg substitute)
¼ cup GF bread crumbs (or GF flour will work also)
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
Toppings
2 cups spinach
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup raspberry balsamic vinaigrette
½ cup pasta sauce
½ cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella style almond cheese)

• In a food processor, shred zucchini and cauliflower.
• In a large bowl, combine zucchini, cauliflower, egg, bread crumbs or flour, garlic, sea salt, basil, oregano. Mix until ingredients are well combined.
• Refrigerate crust mixture for about 30 minutes.
• Using foil or parchment paper, line a baking sheet. Spread crust mixture evenly into a thin layer on the baking sheet.
•  Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add toppings and cheese if desired. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes.
• Let cool for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Scones

I originally found this recipe on Skinnytaste.com. I love this website and have made several of her recipes before – be sure to check it out! She has a few gluten-free recipes but this one wasn’t. I decided to try and make it gluten-free with my own little twists. They turned out awesome!

1 cup zucchini, shredded, water removed

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped (I found a tomato/red pepper blend)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup potato starch
½ cup tapioca starch
1 egg
¾ cup almond milk
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp xanthan gum
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Gruyere cheese)

• Blend together dry ingredients. Add in egg and milk and mix well.
• Slowly fold in tomatoes, zucchini and cheese. With your hands, mix well in the bowl.
• Pour dough onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Mold into a large circle about 1” thick.
• Bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes or until cooked through and lightly brown.

Zucchini Relish

I cannot take any credit for this lovely condiment. This creation was done by my mother. She is a wonderful cook. Due to my new diet and lifestyle changes, I am unable to eat a lot of what she makes. I really do miss her cooking! This is something that she created with her typical ingredients but helped me modify it to fit my dietary needs. We removed the refined sugar and replaced with natural honey to fix it up a bit. However you make it, this is one relish you will always want to have on hand. I could eat it on anything – chicken, fish, sandwiches, dips, etc. Plus it’s a great way to use up all of that extra garden zucchini you have around!

8 cups of zucchini, seeded and grated

1 cup of bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp of ground cloves
½ tsp of ground allspice
1 ½ cups of honey (or3- 4 cups of refined sugar)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• In a food processor, shred zucchini and peppers.
• In a large stockpot, combine zucchini, cloves, garlic, allspice, honey and vinegar.
• Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Ladle relish into prepared jars and finish preparing as desired.

Skillet Summer Medley

This recipe is another little accident. I was trying to think of a good side dish to serve with some chicken and also try to use up some of our garden produce. I had plenty of these items and just decided to throw it together. It turned out great! I never would have thought to mix them together but it worked! It’s a very quick & easy dish also!

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 cup corn, fresh or canned
1 cup okra, diced
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in diced veggies and stir until coated with the olive oil.
• While cooking, sprinkle over the garlic salt, ginger, paprika and pepper. Sauté in the skillet for about 15 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Glaze

You know those desserts you get at restaurants that are titled “Monster  Cookie”, “7 layer Chocolate Cake”, “Death by Chocolate Cake”?? Well, this could have a title something like those. I mean who doesn’t want a “death by chocolate” cake?? I never had room for dessert when we ate out so I’ve only had a few of these items in my years. However – just because we are gluten free now, doesn’t mean we have to miss out on “dangerous” desserts like these. Here’s another one of my splurge recipes but it’s still healthy enough you don’t have to feel too guilty about eating it. I apologize for the picture; it was so good my son couldn’t even wait for me to take a picture before sneaking a bite! J

1 package of GF chocolate cake mix (you can make your own also, I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)

1 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla (2 if you used plain milk)
1 cup shredded zucchini
Glaze:
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used GF, dairy free, but any kind would work)
1 Tbsp milk (I used almond)
1 tsp coconut oil

• Mix together chocolate cake mix, milk, lemon juice, eggs and vanilla for about 30 seconds on low speed. Add in shredded zucchini and blend for another minute. P
• our cake batter into a greased 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until cake is cooked through (a toothpick inserted should come out clean).
• Let cake cool for about 10 minutes.
• While cake is cooling, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave according to package instructions. Add in milk and stir until well combined.
• Pour glaze over cooled cake and serve.
• NOTE: You can make a round cake using two round cake pans; just adjust your cooking time accordingly. This also makes create cupcakes!
• You can also make your glaze in a saucepan if you don’t use a microwave – just be sure to make sure it doesn’t scorch in the pan.

Zucchini-Potato Breakfast Patties

During the summer we have an abundance of zucchini. My mom, myself and our neighbors always seem to have too much of it. Don’t get me wrong, we love eating it. However, you can only eat sautéed or grilled squash every night for so long. We are at that point of the year where we are trying anything to have zucchini different. I haven’t had zucchini for breakfast but it turned out well! These are perfect little hash brown patties and go great with an egg or some fruit.

½ of a large zucchini, shredded, water removed

½ of a russet potato, shredded
¼ cup diced onion
1 egg
¼ cup all purpose gluten-free flour
¼ cup corn meal
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
Olive oil

• Combine zucchini, potato and onion together. Add in egg, flour, cornmeal, pepper and salt. Mix together with your hands until well blended.
• In a large skillet or on a griddle, heat up a little olive oil. Once skillet/griddle is hot, place the zucchini mixture in the skillet in the form of small circle patties.
• Flatten the patties until they are about ¼” thick so they will crisp up nicely. Cook in the skillet on one side for about 10 minutes on low-medium heat.
• Flip patties and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until both sides are crispy. Serve immediately. These are best served warm right after cooking.