This started out as another post about zucchini.  But, something happened…  The zucchini fairy did indeed drop off a zucchini (gotta find out where the zucchini and birthday fairies live and set a live trap).   My thought was zucchini pancakes, but it wasn’t really big enough to pull that off on its own, so I decided to add potato.  This would have been a fine lunch for me, but my husband and son require a little more sustenance.  The milkman came, and dropped off our milk and eggs, and the heavens sang.  I could picture crispy potato zucchini pancakes and creamy eggs, set off by tomatoes right from the garden.

Eggs, in my opinion, are sadly under-utilized as a lunch protein.  Sure, I know, no one wants an egg salad sandwich at work.  But how about hard boiled eggs sliced over a salad?  Or a simple egg omelet (beat an egg and cook it in an 8” pan until it’s set, flip to finish), rolled around some leftovers?  Tamgoyaki shows up in Bento boxes all the time.  It’s just  an omelet with sugar and soy (sometimes mirin or bonito, depending on whose recipe you use).  My point?  Have an egg day.  They’re cheap, add variety, and don’t make you want to go to sleep like a burger does. 

Back to the potato zucchini pancakes …

I shredded the zucchini and potato, added a teaspoon of salt, decided it needed 1/4 cup of onion and a carrot, tossed it well, and left it to drain for an hour.   There was still a lot of moisture, so I pressed, then twisted it dry in a towel.   I added egg, a splash of buttermilk, and maybe 1/4 cup of flour and had a non-runny but non-pasty mixture.  I heated some olive oil in a large non-stick pan, and used a 2 tablespoon scoop to portion out tiny cakes that I flattened before putting in the oil (yeah, messy).  Once they were golden brown on both sides, I popped them into the toaster oven set at 200 degrees to stay warm. 

In the same pan, drained of excess oil, I cooked the eggs.  They weren’t the prettiest looking eggs I’ve ever made.  The combination of dried oregano and the green/gold olive oil did not do wonders for the color.  They tasted great though.

I didn’t have lunch on my meal plan today.  I don’t have dinner, either.  I’m trying to be creative with odds and ends from the garden, pantry, and freezer.  It’d say this isn’t too shabby:

Brian (my 12 year old) does not like zucchini.  However, he liked these a lot.  While he appreciated the splash of color the tomato slices(garnished with parmesan and basil) added to the plate, I was not lucky enough to get him to eat them!

There was a zucchini on my counter this morning…a big one.  It was joined by a few tomatoes.  Otherwise…the counter was bare.  I looked at them as I drank my coffee, and decided that they were lunch.

One of my favorite ways to use tomato and zucchini is Tomato-Zucchini Casserole, which was the inspiration for today.

I decided to skip the layering (and baking!) and cook the vegetables, including onion and garlic (all from the garden!) in one big pan:

It looks like it needs some cheese – Provolone is what was handy.

I made the breadcrumbs using double fiber bread, and swapped olive oil for the butter, then broiled it.  I always set the timer when I broil, because I get distracted.  I set it for 4 minutes, and it called me from the laundry room.  I set it for 4 more, and I was digging through a drawer for something.  And then we ate it, and I barely got a picture…

Sometimes my life doesn’t go according to my meal plan, and when that happens, I just search for recipes using the ingredients I have. on hand. 

This is good at room temperature.  As long as you don’t cover it too tightly the breading stays nice and crisp.  It’s great to take along to a potluck or party as well.

Mexican food is my “go to” when I need to serve a lot of people.  It can be inexpensive, I can do a lot of prep-work in advance, and is easily customizable to tastes.  With 12 people invited, over the weekend, that’s all very important!

  When I’m planning meals like this I make a meal plan solely devoted to the event and make a special grocery shopping trip.  I also like to customize some of the recipes just to make sure that something that  crosses my mind as a good idea makes it to the final plan.  For example, having 3 different proteins for the tacos.

Here is my menu:

Pacos Soft Tacos – customized for beef, bean, and chicken. I chopped up all the toppings early in the day, put the refried beans in a bowl, seasoned and cooked the ground beef, and marinated the Grilled Chili Lime Chicken.  This way when the chicken was being grilled everything else just needed to be warmed and set out. 

Corn, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Salad.  This is really tasty, but I think it’s even better the next day.   Don’t skip the parsley.  Why do people always skip the parsley?  It’s good for you!

Arroz Con Pollo (minus the pollo ).  This is one of my favorite recipes, but since we already had chicken happening with the tacos I left it out of this recipe.  Vegetarians are pretty happy to have more than just refried beans to give the meal more bulk.  This is made with beer – and just about any beer that you like to drink will work – aside from some of the really dark ones.

Tomato Guacamole.  The avocados at the store just didn’t work for me; they were either rocks, or too soft.  Trader Joe’s makes a great guacamole, so I just added onion and tomato to it.  Sometimes you just have to roll with it!

Round out the meal with watermelon, tortilla chips, salsa, and of course a large pitcher of…

Sangria  - Swirlspice’s clone of the famous (or infamous) Sangria from Dominick's here in Ann Arbor.  I could not find the Crantasia, and used pomegranate vodka instead.  

It was a feast!  But…I had leftovers.  Not a lot of any one thing, but enough of everything so that it needed to be used rather than fed to the dog…   So I waited a day, and then mixed together the rice, chicken, beef, refried beans, some cheese, and some onion.  Then I slathered this mixture about 1/2” thick onto 1/2 of a tortilla, folded, flattened, and fried them.  Oh yes…I fried..just enough to get the tortillas golden brown, then I set them in the toaster oven on the lowest heat to make sure they were warmed through.

Here’s lunch.  Well, the one I managed to get a picture of…  

A little bit of cheese, and some golden brown and delicious gives a boost to leftovers!