Recipe Wednesday! Attack of the Endless Zucchini has begun!

That's right, it's BAAAACKKKK! Here are two recipes that use up a LOT, one for Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and another for Easy-Cheesy Lasagna! So, you've probably seen recipes for No-Noodle Lasagna. Just replace the noodles with thinly sliced zucchini or yellow squash, add lasagna layers and VOILA! The PROBLEM is, the squash becomes watery when cooked, and you end up with lasagna SOUP instead! MY solution? Layer the squash, with lasagna noodles on top of it. The extra water content cooks the noodles! Am I brilliant or what? Wait, don't answer
that - I forgot to post my recipes last week!

EASY-CHEESY LASAGNA WITH ZUCCHISY!

Ingredients:

1 lb. cooked mild italian sausage (unless you like it spicy!)
2 small zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced into rounds (peel it first if you'd like)
2 jars spaghetti sauce, your favorite
1 package UNCOOKED lasagna noodles
2 c. shredded mozzerella, or 1 pkg. sliced mozzerella
1 24 oz. container cottage cheese (or ricotta)
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. italian seasoning

Directions:

Mix together the last three ingredients in a small bowl to form the "cream" layer - the cottage cheese, eggs and italian seasoning.
Coat a REALLY REALLY big lasagna pan with cooking spray. Mine is
huge, but you can also use 2 pans and bake one/freeze one!
Layer the ingredients like this:

sauce
squash
uncooked noodles
cream
sausage
mozzerella

I layer them three times, making sure each layer covers the pan evenly. Bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 400 F, or if using 2 pans, 1 hour. It should be thick and bubbly when finished! Serve hot, and leftovers are even better! Freeze some slices for lunches!

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This cake is MOIST and FUDGY and it uses THREE CUPS of zucchini! I frost it with cream cheese frosting, and cut it right in the pan - YUMMO!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting. Chocolate or cream cheese are both delicious!

“He probably gave away 55 zucchini last year. The garden was huge. It was higher than him. Even if he was standing up in it, you had to look to find him. We're going to miss it.”
~Lucille Mancke