Sautéed Zucchini

The secret to using the zucchini your garden produces is to pick it while it is still very small. For real. Summer squash ideally needs to be picked when it’s about 8” long. At this length it has the best flavor, the seeds are tiny (practically indiscernible), and the texture is crisp.

Combine a few ingredients from your garden to make this quick side dish. It is so good you can serve it with just about any meal.

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Sautéed Zucchini

Heat a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add:

1 Tbsp butter

Swirl around skillet to melt, then add:

1/4 cup onions, finely diced

1 tsp garlic, finely minced

Sauté for 1 minute, then toss in:

~2 cups zucchini, sliced into 1/8” disks

Sprinkle lightly with:

Salt

Continue to cook for ~5 minutes, turning zucchini two or three times. The veggies should get a bit of color on some of the disks but should remain fairly crisp. Sprinkle lightly with:

Grated cheese

Allow cheese to melt, serve immediately.

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Brenda’s tips:

• Serving size: 2-4

• This is THE way to prepare zucchini. For the absolute best taste, use small zucchinis

• A few ideas on how to serve this dish:

  • As a side to any meal

  • Toss with cooked pasta

  • Crack a few eggs into the zucchini to make an omelet

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Creamy Garlic Sauce

Brenda makes this creamy garlic sauce for pretty much any savory dish that needs a boost: pasta, gnocchi, veggies, chicken, pizza, beef, rice…the sky is the limit!

Scroll to the Brenda’s Tips section to learn how to turn this recipe into a soup.

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Creamy Garlic Sauce

Make a roux:

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

Cook for 2-4 minutes on medium heat.

Whisking continuously, add:

1 cup milk

Once smooth, also add:

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp parsley

1 oz cream cheese

1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Simmer.

Once thickened, cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

Serve hot.

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Brenda’s tips:

• Serving Size: makes about 1 cup.

• Roux? Sounds complex? Nope. Heat a skillet. Add butter and flour. Start whisking. The butter will melt and whisking will incorporate the flour. Once smooth let it bubble for at least a minute - to cook the flour - and longer will develop flavor. Eventually it can burn so keep stirring but don’t let it darken too much.

• And once you add milk you now have a béchamel. Brenda’s mom always called it a white sauce.

• Brenda makes this creamy garlic sauce for pretty much any savory dish that needs a boost: pasta, veggies, chicken, pizza, beef, rice .... thin it out with a little more milk, cook the roux longer for deeper flavor, or even make a small batch to thicken soup.