Zucchini is so easy to grow and so prolific that I always have it coming out of my ears. After feeding my family all of the zucchini bread, zucchhini brownies, grilled and sauteed zucchini they could handle, I used to feed it to our livestock and chickens. Until the animals also grew sick of it and ignored it. And then I thought up this recipe and this recipe! Now, finally, I can keep up with the zucchini! 

When I have an abundance of zucchini, I do this:

1. Shred the zucchini, using your food processor, into a large bowl. Leave the peel on, and be sure to harvest your zucchini before it is huge and tough.

2. Sprinkle salt over the zucchini, let stand for 10 minutes and then spread it on a towel and press it, in order to eliminate the excess moisture.

3. Fill a gallon-sized ziploc with about 5 c. zucchini and flatten the bag into the bottom of your favorite casserole dish to freeze, so that it will be the right shape for cooking later.

 

By the end of the summer, you will have dozens of bags of shredded zucchini in your freezer, ready to turn into this scrumptious casserole. Here’s how:

 

 

Casserole Instructions:

1. Remove the frozen zucchini from the bag and place in your casserole dish.  It should fit well, since you froze it that way, but if it doesn’t, wait an hour for it to thaw a little around the edges and press the zucchini firmly into the pan.

You could also make this recipe with fresh zucchini, skipping the freezing step.

2. Whisk 3 eggs with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the zucchini.

3. Bake zucchini at 350 degrees for 25 minutes,.

4. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook 1 lb. ground beef with 1 diced onion until completely done. Add 1 24 oz. can of your favorite spaghetti sauce.

5. First spread 1 c. mozarella cheese over the baked zucchini, followed by the sauce mixture and top with another cup of mozarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with a bit more parmesan before serving.

 

This is so delicious, your kids may not even realize they’ve eaten a large serving of zucchini, ha, ha! It’s also very economical, especially if you use your own homegrown zucchini.

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 diced onion
• 1 24 oz can spaghetti sauce

 

Cost breakdown:

zucchini: free
3 eggs: $0.30
1/2 c. parmesan: $1.00
2 c. shredded mozzarella: $0.89
1 lb. ground beef: $2.25
1 onion: $0.33
24 oz can spaghetti sauce: $0.99
makes 10 large servings
less than 58 cents per serving (unless you need to purchase your zucchini, in which case it is about 88 cents per serving)