Before we all dive headfirst into all things pumpkin (which, for the record, is a passion I reserve for October), here’s a recipe using the last of the summer zucchini harvest.  I promise it works just as well with zucchini you buy at the store if you aren’t sitting on a stash you grew in your own garden (like, ahem, me).

These are sweet and tender and perfectly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. The zucchini and carrots are the secret weapons  keeping them moist (much like bananas in banana bread – all the moisture just seeps out into the muffin keeping them from drying out!)

Once these are baked, try freezing some and packing them next week in school lunches as the treat. Your kids will be delighted and you’ll have a grab-and-go homemade dessert option at the ready.

Fresh Zucchini Muffins

Makes about 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 small to medium-size squash)
1/2 cup grated carrot

1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp. baking powder
Cinnamon and sugar for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In medium bowl, combine grated zucchini, eggs, vanilla, and oil. Stir well to combine, then gently stir into flour mixture. Be careful not to overwork the batter – doing so will lead to dense muffins, and who wants those?

3. Fill lined muffin tins about 3/4 of the way with the batter and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on each. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Every time we put a Steak Salad on the Nourish@Home menu, it’s a top seller. There’s just something hard to resist about a big pile of greens (in this case romaine, endive, and arugula) topped with fresh tomatoes and sliced onions, sprinkled with flavorful Gorgonzola, and tossed with just enough steak to make it a meal. You can use leftover steak if you wish, especially if you cut down on the amount of greens and fixings to make a salad for one. This version hasn’t made it to our menu…yet. But try it yourself and see what you think!

Steakhouse Dinner Salad
4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 head of romaine lettuce, cut into bite size pieces

2 large heads of Belgian endive, thinly sliced crosswise (about 3 cups)

3 cups fresh baby arugula

12 cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, coarsely crumbled

Red wine vinaigrette

About 1/8 teaspoon salt

About 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound leftover steak (strip steak, rib eye, or filet mignon, cut crosswise into thin slices)

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, endive, arugula, tomatoes, and onion to combine.  Add half of the cheese and toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to coat.  Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste.

2.  Divide the salad equally among 4 plates and top with the steak slices.

3.  Drizzle more vinaigrette over the steak slices and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.

When your children take one bite and say “Mom, this is the BEST thing you’ve made in MONTHS,” you know you have a winner on your hands. Friends, meet the meal that literally drew applause at the dinner table (Disclaimer: my children are just a teensy bit dramatic so those results may not be typical!). But honestly, this is a dish that is GREEN (thanks to salsa verde and cilantro) and has things SMUSHED TOGETHER (shreded chicken, cream cheese, and salsa verde stuffed into corn tortillas) and STILL the applause came. Beat that!

This is a great Sunday dinner because the chicken cooking and assembly takes a little bit of time but the process is actually kind of fun. Your children may even want to get in on the action once you have the elements in place on the counter. Who cares if the tortillas are rolled evenly? If they had a hand in making dinner, your odds of the kids eating it go up tenfold. (Second disclaimer: I’m about the farthest thing from a statistician you can get so tenfold may or may not be an accurate figure here, but you get my point.)

Okay, off to the kitchen you go. Make these. And for heavens sake, graciously accept the accolades that are coming your way!

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
adapted from Cooking Light 2006

serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde (I like the Herdez brand)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1-1.5 lbs boneless breasts if you’re cooking your own)

1/3 cup (3 ounces) lowfat cream cheese

1 cup fat free, less-sodium chicken broth (if you’re poaching your chicken you won’t need this – just use the water you cooked the chicken in!)

8 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used a Chi-Chi’s “flour and corn” variety – worked beautifully)

Cooking Spray

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (LOVE how this melts for enchiladas)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

4 lime wedges

Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 425°.

2.  Combine first 4 ingredients in the food processor; blend until smooth. In a large bowl, mix shredded chicken with cream cheese and stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.

3.  Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 10 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels. Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. (Hint: don’t overfill these – it won’t look like much but it will be plenty and you need to fill all 8 tortillas!) Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 9 x 13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture.

4.  Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Gather compliments.