Mediterranean Baked Swai or Tilapia Recipe and One Year Blogiversary Taste of Home Cookbook Giveaway!

Wow, one year blogging already?? I cannot believe how fast that time flew by! I initially started this as a book review blog, but soon added recipes due to my love of cooking. Friends and family always wanted recipes I've cooked, but I never wrote them down. It was a challenge at first, measuring and writing everything down, but I soon caught the hang of it. Pictures are a whole different story. I look at some of my first pictures and want to laugh at how basic they are! It's not easy taking food pics and thanks to my sister Shannon, who is a photographer, my images have become so much better! I am so glad to have each and every one of you follow me throughout my cooking, reading and reviewing adventures and I hope you find lots of things here you love!!

I have been a huge fan of Taste of Home for many years. I always looked through their magazines as a teen when my Mom would get them in the mail, and have loved them ever since! This recipe came from the Taste of Home Cookbook! This cookbook is a huge hard cover binder filled with hundreds of recipes. I love this book and always know I can find a great recipe within it's pages! One of you lucky readers will have a chance at winning your very own copy!! You can find the rafflecopter entry form at the bottom of this post. Giveaway starts August 31, 2012 and ends September 7, 2012! Good luck!

One of the recipes I found in this book was for Mediterranean Baked Fish. Tilapia was the fish I decided to use. I cannot say enough great things about how this recipe turned out! Both my daughter and I cleared our plates! All of the flavors mesh well together and the fish turns out so flaky and juicy from the tomatoes and lemon. I made a couple minor changes from the original such as adding more garlic. I always need more garlic, haha! This is definitely a recipe I will make again! Enjoy!!

Mediterranean Baked Tilapia (print recipe)

What you need:

1 cup leeks, thinly sliced (white part only)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

12 large fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 pounds Tilapia fillets

2 roma tomatoes, sliced

10 green olives

1 medium lemon, half of it sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

In a medium skillet, saute leeks and garlic in olive oil until tender. Set aside. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Arrange basil in a single layer in the bottom of the dish, top with fish fillets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with leek mixture. Arrange tomatoes and olives over fish. Place the thinly sliced lemon on top and squeeze juice from remaining half of lemon all over the top. Sprinkle with additional pepper.

Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Now for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway details:

Giveaway starts August 31, 2012 and ends September 7, 2012. The winner will be announced and emailed on September 8, 2012. One lucky reader will win the New and Revised Taste of Home Binder Cookbook. Winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and notified by email. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email, and if no reply is made within that time, Rafflecopter will choose another winner. This giveaway is open to United States residents only. If you have any questions, please contact me at hoteatsandcooloreads (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks for entering!

If you like this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads Board on Pinterest here! 

On the blog...
One year ago: Book Review: If These Walls Could Talk by Bettye Griffin

This recipe was shared at:
Leek Blog Hop at Katherine Martinelli
Gluten Free Fridays at Vegetarian Mamma
Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff
Foodie Friday at Simple Living
Weekend Potluck at Sunflower Supper Club
Foodie Friends Friday at A Lil Country Sugar
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes for my Boys
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday at DJ's Sugar Shack
Recipe Linky at Newlyweds
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Manic Monday at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
The Bulletin Board at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mix it Up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals


 
*In accordance with the FCC guidelines, if you make a purchase from the Amazon link above, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you for the referral.*

Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Creamy Mushroom Gravy Recipe

This is one of my favorite gravy recipes! I mentioned it in my Classic Crispy Baked Chicken post a couple days ago! My Mom would make this alot when I was growing up, and it's a great comfort food for me! I've made a few changes, but it still tastes amazing! I also love this mashed potato recipe! The garlic gives it a great flavor. Enjoy!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (print recipe)

What you need:

5-6 medium- large potatoes, cut into cubes

4 cloves garlic, skins removed

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

Boil potatoes and garlic cloves until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain. In a large bowl, mash potatoes, garlic, butter, milk and sour cream until smooth.

Creamy Mushroom Gravy (print recipe)

What you need:

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1- 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

2 dried sage leaves, crumbled

1/4 cup chicken broth or drippings from Classic Crispy Baked Chicken

salt and pepper if desired

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, saute butter and garlic in butter until tender, about 10 minutes. Add soup, sage, broth and salt and pepper. Simmer over medium low for about 10 minutes.

This recipe was shared at:
Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday at DJ's Sugar Shack
Recipe Linky at Newlyweds
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
The Bulletin Board at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mix it Up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Weekend Potluck at The Better Baker
Foodie Friends Friday at A Lil Country Sugar
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes for my Boys
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Tasty Thursdays at Mandatory Mooch

Classic Crispy Baked Chicken Recipe

Roasted or baked chicken is such a comfort food for me. Especially if I serve it with mashed potatoes and creamy mushroom gravy. My Mom made it regularly when I was a child, and my daughter loves it now. It's perfect for a weekend lunch or dinner and the leftovers are perfect for making Chicken, Tomato and Cucumber Pasta Salad. The garlic mashed potatoes and creamy mushroom gravy recipe will be up on Thursday will be found here!

Classic Crispy Baked Chicken Recipe (print recipe)

What you need:

Skin on Chicken Thighs or Legs

Black Pepper

Garlic Powder

Season Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Trim excess fat from chicken thighs. Season chicken evenly with pepper, garlic powder and season salt and rub in. Bake in a glass baking dish for 1 hour.

If you like this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads Board on Pinterest here! 

This recipe was shared at:
Manic Monday at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
The Bulletin Board at Mrs happy Homemaker
Mix it up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's meals
Weekend Potluck at The Better Baker
Foodie Friends Friday at A Lil Country Sugar
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes for my Boys
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Tasty Thursdays at Mandatory Mooch
Recipe Round Up at Gooseberry Patch
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training 

Raspberry Custard Recipe

 Custard is one of my favorite desserts! I always know when I find a new custard recipe, I just have to try it! I found this recipe browsing online, and when I had my sister and her boyfriend over for dinner, I knew this would be the perfect dessert to make. This recipe is so quick and easy to make and everyone will love it! Most of these ingredients can be found in my kitchen at anytime, so I know it will be a go to dessert for me. You could also try blackberries, strawberries or blueberries depending on what you have, or what's on sale. Enjoy!!

Raspberry Custard (print recipe)

What you need:

1/4 cup melted butter, plus extra for greasing the pie plate

3/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups raspberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Place raspberries in the bottom of the pie plate. They will rise once you add the custard.

In a blender, combine milk, eggs, sugar, flour, salt and vanilla and blend until combined, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter and blend again. Pour custard mixture over raspberries and bake for 20-25 minutes or until custard is set in the center and lightly browned on top. Once you take this out of the oven and cool, the custard will deflate. Top with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. 

Recipe source: Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

If you liked this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads board on Pinterest here!

This recipe was shared at:
Weekend Potluck at The Better Baker
Foodie Friends Friday at A Lil Country Sugar
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes for my Boys
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Tasty Thursday at Mandatory mooch
Recipe Round Up at Gooseberry Patch
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady behind the Curtain
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Makin You Crave Monday at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mix it up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Recipe of the week at Family Fresh Meals

Apple Blueberry Quick Bread Recipe

I have been on a huge quick bread kick lately! I just love having a piece or two for breakfast! Yummy! My Dad has a early harvest apple tree with these big, juicy, sugary apples and I just knew bread would be the perfect thing to make with them! These apples were big enough where I only needed one for this recipe, so I see a few more apple recipes in this blog's future! Enjoy!!

Apple Blueberry Quick Bread (print recipe)

What you need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup apple sauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup apples, peeled and chopped (I use a vegetable peeler to peel my apples)

Topping:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x4 loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, add eggs and beat with a mixer for 30 seconds. Add oil, apple sauce, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sugars and beat until smooth.

Slowly add in flour mixture and mix on low just until combined. Fold in apples and blueberries. Pour batter into loaf pan.

Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly on top of batter.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until browned on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and remove from pan.

Bread recipe adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod

If you liked this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads board on Pinterest here!

This recipe was shared at:
It's Fall Y'all at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Recipe Round Up at Gooseberry Patch
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Makin You Crave Monday at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mix it up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Recipe of the Week at Family Fresh Meals
Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook
Foodie Friends friday at This and That
Tasty Thursday at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes for my Boys
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Tasty Thursdays at Mandatory Mooch 

BLT Gazpacho Recipe

Last summer when I was visiting Detroit my sister and I stopped at a fabulous little deli called Mudgie's. It ranks at the top of my favorite restaurant list. While I was there, I tried their soup of the day which was BLT Gazpacho. Ever since then, I have been craving that flavor combo. 

This recipe is great. I love being able to use a whole bunch of garden veggies to make it, and what could be better than some bacon on top?? It's fun and tasty and so, so easy to make!! Enjoy!!

BLT Gazpacho (print recipe)

What you need:

2 cups crusty bread, cubed

1 garlic clove

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, seeded

1- 4 inch piece English cucumber, peeled and seeded

1- 1 inch piece bell pepper

3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup tomato juice

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper if desired

Garnish:

crumbled bacon

lettuce, sliced in thin strips

mayo

Directions:

Soak crusty bread in cold water for 15 minutes, drain and squeeze out any extra water. Put all ingredients in a blender, except olive oil and garnish ingredients, and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil, blending until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until well chilled at least 3 hours, and up to 24 hours. Garnish with bacon, lettuce and mayo when serving.

If you liked this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads board on Pinterest here!

This recipe was shared at:
The Ultimate Soup Recipe List at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Makin You Crave Monday at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mix it Up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook
Foodie Friends Friday at This and That
Tasty Thursday at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes for my Boys
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Tasty Thursday at Mandatory Mooch
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes

Pasta with Tomato, Basil and Mushroom Alfredo Sauce Recipe

A fabulous way to jazz up a jar of alfredo sauce! Family friendly and great for weeknights!

Some of my favorite meals are meatless. They are a huge money saver plus they are generally quicker to prepare, making them great weeknight meals. If you've been following me for awhile, you know that I am a huge pasta lover, and I love to try new pasta recipes. 

Book Review: Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

A great read that includes romance, mystery, and humor!

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Summary of Shoot the Moon from Goodreads:

Fresh Strawberry and Zucchini Quick Bread Recipe

One of my favorite things about summertime fruits and veggies, is making new and interesting recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand. You just never know what will be in your kitchen depending on sales, fresh finds at farmer's markets, or what came out of your garden that day. This recipe is one of those creations. I got a really great deal on strawberries and needed to get them used up, as well as having an abundance of zucchini, so what better than to make a quick bread! This one turned out so stinking good. Top each slice off with a little bit of butter for the perfect snack, dessert or breakfast! Enjoy!!

Fresh Strawberry and Zucchini Quick Bread (print recipe)

What you need:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 cup fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped

1 cup packed grated zucchini

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, beating well between each egg. Add vanilla and beat until mixed.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat, then add 1/2 of the yogurt, repeating until flour and yogurt are just combined.

Fold in strawberries and zucchini. Pour batter into loaf pan, smoothing top with a spatula. 

Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set pan on a wire rack to cool, then run a knife along the edge and remove from pan. 

If you liked this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads board on Pinterest here!

Recipe Source: Examiner (slightly adapted)

This recipe was shared at:
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Mix it up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Makin You Crave Monday at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Foodie Friends Friday at Busy Vegetarian Mom
Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes For My Boys
Tasty Tuesday at Mandatory Mooch
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Restaurant Review: Soul Hole in Traverse City, MI

** I am very sad to announce this great restaurant has closed as of December 15th, 2012. :( **

I am a huge Southern cuisine soul food lover. Soul Hole in Traverse City is the definition of soul food. I fell in love as soon as I saw their menu. They have an amazing variety of food to choose from on their menu. I was seriously torn on what to eat. I wanted everything and believe me, I was so stuffed after leaving this place, you could've rolled me out of there!

Soul Hole is a small restaurant located a short way from Downtown Traverse City. It's cute and cozy and the service was absolutely amazing. I cannot rave about this place enough. I would dream to own a restaurant just like this. It's that great. The food presentation was beautiful and the flavors were bold and very Southern.

We decided to start off with a couple appetizers since they were too good to pass up.

 The Deep Fried Mac-N-Cheese was out of this world. I loved the small pieces of bacon mixed in and it was deep fried to crispy perfection on the outside. The inside was so cheesy and creamy. This is a must have when stopping here. It's delicious!
 

 We also wanted to try some authentic Fried Green Tomatoes. They were very flavorful and the coating was yummy. The creole remoulade dipping sauce was outstanding and it paired perfectly with the tomatoes.

This Cornbread is the best I've ever had in my life. It's sweet, yet savory and the honey jalapeno glaze that tops it is heaven. What I would give for a piece of that right now. I wonder if they ship to MN?

After contemplating forever, I decided to order the half Fried Shrimp Po Boy. If my huge portion was a half, I cannot even imagine how gigantic their full size potion was. It was HUGE! This sandwich is phenomenal and it comes with kettle chips, coleslaw and a pickle spear. Delish! The sauces and and seasonings were superb and the French baguette was fresh and delicious. I really can't even begin to explain how good this was. You really need to try it for yourself.

 Shannon ordered the cup of Jambalaya. I had to sneak a taste and it was as fabulous as it looked. It comes with a side of the amazing cornbread I told you about above. Everything about it is perfect and the flavors are very authentic.

Monica decided to have the Blacked Tuna Salad. This was my first time ever tasting Yellow Fin Tuna and it was delicious! The Sweet Potato Vinaigrette was the dressing for this salad and it goes with it so well. This was a huge portion and very filling. Once again, the flavors were on point. Another winner!!

Last but not least, we had to have the Beignets for dessert. This portion was also very generous. The cinnamon powdered sugar was perfect dusted on top and the caramel dipping sauce was delicious. I just loved these. It was a wonderful ending to this meal.

Soul Hole is perfect in every way. The food was so beautifully served and the quality was amazing. I have yet to find a place this good in Minnesota for true soul food. You need to make it the first stop when you arrive in Traverse City. Don't miss out on this excellence!!

 Very satisfied after an amazing meal! Left to Right: Monica, Shannon and I

You can find Soul Hole at:

408 S. Union St

Traverse City, MI 49684

231-929-7238

Website is here!

Facebook is here!

Thanks to my sister Shannon from Speaking in Plain Shamish for taking these great photos for this post!

Fully Loaded Baked Potato Salad Recipe

Your restaurant favorite fully loaded baked potato made into a delicious summer salad! Make it for your next BBQ, potluck or picnic. It's a crowd pleaser, affordable and super easy to make!

Apple and Strawberry Crisp Recipe

Apple crisp is one of my favorite desserts but when you add fresh strawberries, it takes it to another level! This recipe is quick, easy and delicious, making it a perfect go-to dessert. I fell in love with this recipe as a child. My Mom would make it during the fall, when the huge apple tree in our backyard, was ready for picking. Now as an adult, I love making it for my daughter, especially when we can add our other favorite fruits to it. I hope you enjoy!!

Apple and Strawberry Crisp (print recipe)

What you need:

Bottom: 

5 cups apples, peeled and sliced

3 c. strawberries, sliced

3/4 c. sugar

Top:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x10 baking dish. Put apples and strawberries in the bottom of the dish and cover evenly with sugar.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and butter with your fingers until mixed. Top fruit with the crisp mixture, covering the majority of the fruit. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until crisp is lightly browned. Top with ice cream, whipped cream, or eat it plain!

If you liked this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads board on Pinterest here!

This recipe was shared at: 
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Foodie Friends Friday at Busy Vegetarian Mom
Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook
Thursdays Treasures at recipes For My Boys
Tasty Thursday at Mandatory Mooch
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday at DJ's Sugar Shack
Recipe Round Up at Gooseberry Patch
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Makin You Crave Monday at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Recipe of the Week at Family Fresh Meals
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals

Zucchini & Ground Beef Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

I was super excited when I won a giveaway from Marsha on Facebook who sells Wildtree products. I've always been really curious about their products and could not wait to try them. I love that Wildtree uses natural ingredients and they process all of their products in a peanut-free facility! That's awesome for any of you who suffer from peanut allergies!! This recipe for zucchini spaghetti sauce uses Wildtree's Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Blend seasoning. I really loved the flavors in this seasoning blend. It's a perfect combo of spices for any pasta sauce! You can purchase it from Wildtree here!

The inspiration for this recipe came from a cookbook that my amazing Aunt Linnea gave to me. It is the Southern Living Annual Recipes from 1983. This cookbook is packed full of amazing recipes and I have a huge list of stuff I want to make from it! Everyone who has a zucchini plant, has tons of extra zucchini they don't know what to do with. This recipe is the perfect way to use some of it up. I love the flavors from the veggies in this sauce and my daughter loved it so much, she ate it 3 days in a row!! This is a great recipe if you are feeding a crowd, or you could always freeze the additional sauce for another meal. I used a one pound box of pasta and then made additional pasta for the leftovers. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!!

Zucchini Spaghetti Sauce (print recipe)

What you need:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup onion, diced

1/2 cup green pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups zucchini, diced into bite sized pieces

2- 15 ounce cans tomato sauce

1- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced (white or baby bellas)

1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Blend

or 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
salt and pepper if desired

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, onion, green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper over medium high heat until ground beef is cooked through. Reduce heat to medium low and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until zucchini is cooked through. Serve over your favorite pasta!

If you liked this recipe, follow the Hot Eats and Cool Reads board on Pinterest here!

This recipe was shared at:
Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday at DJ's Sugar Shack
Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain
Totally Tasty Tuesdays at Mandy's Recipe Box
All My Bloggy Friends at Love Bakes Good Cakes
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training
Makin You Crave Monday at Mrs Happy Homemaker
Mealtime Monday at Couponing and Cooking
Recipe of the Week at Family Fresh Meals
Church Supper at Everyday Mom's Meals
Foodie Friends Friday at A Lil Country Sugar
Weekend Potluck at The Better Baker
My entry into Five Little Chefs Fantastic Thursday sponsored by Appliances Online
Tasty Thursday at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
Creative Thursday at Michelle's Tasty Creations
Thursdays Treasures at Recipes For My Boys
Tasty Thursdays at Mandatory Mooch
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage

*In accordance with the FCC guidelines, if you make a purchase from the Amazon link above, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you for the referral.*