Zucchini

So what do you do when the mother of all zucchinis shows up on your porch?

This is Lili. She is 5. The zucchini is half her size. To tell the truth, I really wasn't quite sure it was a zucchini. When I cut it open it looked like this:

This, to me, looks like the inside of a pumpkin. The seeds were like pumpkin seeds. Little zucchinis I have cut and sauteed in dishes do not have seeds in them like this. You just slice and go.

I decided to proceed in hopes it really was a zucchini. So, what to make? Bread was the first thought, but my son Carter had been pestering me to bake something. He wanted to bake something. Uhggg. Sorry, but kids in the kitchen leads to amazing messes. I let my daughter bake cookies the other day and discovered she new nothing of measuring devices OR ingredients. So it became a much needed half hour cooking lesson. Carter wanted to make brownies so I googled "best zucchini brownie recipe". Always google for the 'best' and look for 5 stars and great comments. Saves a lot of heartache!

This is the recipe I chose:

Best Zucchini Brownies Ever Recipe: #180695
The zucchini make the brownies very moist and no one ever knows what the secret is to these brownies until you tell them.
by slickchick
40 min 10 min prep
SERVES 16 1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 1/4 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream sugar & margarine. Add eggs and vanilla.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir in shredded zucchini last.
Spread in a 13 x 9 greased pan. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips on top along with 1 Tbls sugar.
Bake @ 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

© 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com"

We doubled the recipe so there would be enough to share and to use up more zucchini! Here is the finished product.

They were moist and yummy. Not like a true chocolatey brownie as my kids expected. They thought it tasted like a chocolate carrot cake. I suppose it did a little. It did not stop them from eating their share.

Now, what to do with the other 2/3 of this monster zucchini? A couple of cups went in to a chicken pasta zucchini stirfry. Can't say that was a huge hit with the kids as there was a lot of green in there. They all ate it. Their other option was bread and butter :-)

The rest is still waiting to be turned into the 'best' zucchini bread. I already have my recipe waiting. This time I'm looking for the grater to the Kitchen Aid. Its packed up here somewhere in this house. Probably next to the candy thermometer.