Fall is upon us and the end-of-summer bounty must be used! Now!!!

There are lots of great cream soup recipes out there – most of them featuring a single vegetable, like spinach. With so many green vegetables still overflowing in my garden, I decided – what the heck! – I would try throwing them together with some butter, stock and cream and see what would happen.

I sauteed the onion first, then added zucchini, peppers and garlic. I threw in a ton of chopped spinach and Swiss chard and then covered with vegetable stock and then simmered for about 20 minutes. Then, a splash of cream and a stick blender and VOILA! Creamy green goodness! Don’t you just love an experiment gone well?!

CREAM OF SUMMER SOUP

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion (Vidalia or Walla Walla), diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
4 medium zucchini, diced
1 bell pepper, any color, diced
16 cup chopped spinach or Swiss chard
32 ounces vegetable broth
1 cup heavy cream
Juice of one lime
A few dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and stir frequently for about 2 minutes. Add in zucchini and bell pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, until all vegetables are softened.

Add in spinach or chard and vegetables stock. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in blender or with a handheld immersion blender in pot until very smooth. Add in remaining ingredients.

Serve garnished with a little diced fresh vegetables for garnish.

Other fab frugal unique summer’s bounty soups by fellow bloggers:
Cream of Ratatouille Soup, The Crispy Cook
Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup, Andrea’s Recipes
Zucchini and Avocado Pear Soup, Greedy Gourmet
Chilled Red Pepper Soup, The Well-Seasoned Cook

And by ME:
Cream of Green Chile Soup, Fab Frugal Food

–posted by Donna

If you need one last way to use up that zucchini that has been making you feel guilty, here it is! I’ve tried planks, slices, breaded, deep fried  – I just love crispy zucchini any which way!

Most of the food blogs that have written about crispy zucchini as an appetizer have cut the zucchini into planks. I like thin slices because then the whole thing is crispy, not just the outside. The trick to making these crispy is to slice them on the diagonal so that you increase the surface area and the water can bake out. These are easy and fast and can be used as a side dish or an appetizer. You can use the frugal cheese in the green can for this – it is so finely ground that it adds the right texture. Be sure to spray the wire baking rack with oil, because the slices will stick if you don’t. Bake  them in a screaming hot oven to add extra crunchiness to the crust. Yum!

OVEN-FRIED ZUCCHINI CRISPS

2 medium zucchini, about 1 pound
A little canola oil spray
1/2 cup finely ground Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the zucchini in round slices a little thicker than 1/4 inches on the diagonal so that the slices are oblong. Lay them on a wire baking rack that has been sprayed with oil. Spray the slices with oil. Mix together the Parmesan and bread crumbs and garlic and sprinkle on top of slices.  Place baking rack on a baking sheet. Bake at top of oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and turn slices over. Spray with oil and sprinkle with Parmesan mixture. Return to top of oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp.

Serve immediately with dipping sauce. ( I like just plain old ranch dressing or warm marinara sauce.)

Other fab frugal crispy zucchini:
Parmesan Zucchini Sticks, Closet Cooking
Baked Zucchini Sticks, For the Love of Cooking
Oven Fried Zucchini Sticks, Baking Bites
Parmesan Encrusted Zucchini, Kalyn’s Kitchen

– posted by Donna

It’s strange. I don’t like peanut butter, but a good spicy Thai peanut sauce is one of my favorite things. I love it drizzled on just about everything. I had trouble making good peanut sauce until it finally dawned on me: to have really good Thai peanut sauce, you must start with really good peanut butter. It was one of those “Duh” moments for me! So, forget the popular brands and go for the good stuff for this recipe. It is a little more expensive, but you only use a little and it is well worth it. I like the all-natural kind that says “dark roasted” on the label, and only has two ingredients: salt and peanuts. I made this recipe with the idea of serving it cold on salads, so it is more like a vinaigrette than a sauce you would serve warm with chicken.

With a garden full our second crop of of spinach and Swiss chard, I have plenty of dark greens to spare, and they are a perfect match with peanuts, it turns out! I very lightly and briefly sauteed some rough chopped spinach for less than a minute until it just barely started to wilt. You could also blanch it quickly in boiling water. I then drained it and drizzled it with my Thai peanut sauce recipe, and sprinkled with some diced roasted peanuts. Wow! Such an explosion of flavors!

This peanut sauce is so delicious I just want to sit and eat it with a spoon!

SPICY THAI PEANUT DRESSING

1/3 cup all-natural dark roasted peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sweetener (honey, agave nectar or sugar substitute equivilant)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Blend (or vigorously whisk) all ingredients until smooth.

Other  fabulous looking Thai peanut sauce recipes (for serving warm) by fellow bloggers:
Red Curry Thai Peanut Sauce, Kalyn’s Kitchen, with coconut milk and red curry
My Mom’s Thai peanut sauce recipe, She Simmers, simmered with coconut milk
Peanut Noodle Saute with sauce, Closet Cooking, also with coconut milk
Peanut Chicken Stir Fry with sauce, Karina’s Kitchen, a zesty sauce with lime juice

–posted by Donna

I recently discovered a fab side dish that you can throw together with an ingredient that you can always keep in your pantry: canned white beans. So, if company shows up at the last minute, you can always grill something and smash some beans!

This dish has the same ‘comfort’ factor as mashed potatoes, and yet is so much healthier. Beans are almost always in the budget-friendly Top Ten Healthy Foods and Super foods lists. They are packed with protein and are a very frugal protein source.

This ‘mash’ has much more flavor than mashed potatoes, and is so, so , soooooo much easier to make! No peeling and boiling chunks of potatoes. I am very excited to have discovered this fun and flavorful side dish, and I couldn’t wait to share it with all of you! It will become one of my top side dish standbys.

First,  you saute some shallot or onion, garlic and fresh herbs . I like thyme, but you could use pretty much any favorite herb, since beans are mild and are a match for most any herb. Then, add the beans and mash with a potato masher and drizzle in extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Add a little water to make the texture as fluffy as you like it, and you’re done!

WHITE BEAN SMASH

2 medium shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons minced thyme leaves (or other fresh herbs)
4 cans (15 ounces each) any variety white beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water, or more as desired
Salt and pepper to taste
A few dashes Tabasco sauce

Saute the shallots and garlic over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of the oil for 2 – 3 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add thyme leaves and cook another minute. Add in beans and remaining oil and mash with potato masher. Slowly add in lemon juice and water as needed to reach a fluffy, mashed potato type texture. Taste and add salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce as desired. Serve warm. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

Other fab white bean side dishes:
The Original White Bean Mash recipe - Nigella Lawson
White Bean Gratin - Serious Eats.com
White Bean Vinaigrette – Perfect Pantry.com

– posted by Donna