We’re just dusting off our computers and are ready to get back at it after taking a little bit of a summer break. We have missed you all but we had some great times with our kids while they were home for the summer and hope you’ve been well!

This year was the first year I’ve planted and harvested a garden in my own yard. Prior to this year I have worked some ground in my mom’s garden and tried small things in pots. Last fall I convinced my husband to build garden boxes and now I have some of my very own garden produce to enjoy. It’s been really fun. My goal this year was to just TRY something. The day I transplated some tomato plants into the boxes there came in a giant wind storm and I was convinced nothing would survive. Well as luck would have it my plants didn’t all die and I’ve been getting some tomatoes and zucchinis. The tomatoes still need to ripen but the zucchinis are excellent and I’ve been enjoying find ways to use them up. Since this is the first time I’ve ever successfully planted vegetables in my own yard I get to show pictures of what it looks like. It feels great!

Back to zucchini. I love zucchini. My kids (half of them at least) love zucchini. I find ways to use it however I can. This last Sunday we were coming home from church and I hadn’t thought about what I was going to make for dinner. I had found these new meatballs at Costco (my 3 year old is a sucker for samples) the day before and I thought I could try and invent some sort of recipe using them. For lack of a better name, we’re going to go ahead and call this “Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Zucchini”. Don’t let the boring name fool you. This was way good and my whole family wants me to make it again. Well minus the 3 year old who just wants it to be “Sweet and Sour Meatballs”. I told you only half of my kids like zucchini.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Zucchini

Ingredients:
Meatballs (I used pre-made but you could make your own)
Sweet and sour sauce (see below)
Zucchini (cubed)
Pineapple (cubed – reserve juice for sauce)
Any other vegetable you have on hand
Rice

Directions:
Warm meatballs in a pan. In a separate pan fry zucchini, vegetables, and pineapple. Once vegetables and meat are cooked, add sauce. Serve over rice.

Sweet and sour sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple juice
1⁄3 cup water
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a pan and sir. Bring to a boil. As it comes to a boil it will thicken.

Other Zucchini Recipes

Homemade Marinara with Zucchini
Spaghetti Bake
Homemade Coleslaw
Sweet and Sour Chicken and Quinoa
Chocolate Zucchini Bread (scroll down)

-Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net