Cold winds and runny noses are keeping us indoors a little more than I am comfortable with, but it's a good time to turn the oven back on. I had some zucchini on hand and shredded it for some loaves of zucchini bread when I realized quickly that I had a little too much on hand for just a few breadpanfuls. So, I looked ahead to dinner.

I had a small pile of canned tomatoes I bought on sale at Hiller's the day before, and ground beef from the meat counter at Kroger on Coolidge (the very friendly employee I talked to also had celiac in her family and was sensitive to gluten, by the way!), so I already had a meal plan in the works.

I was planning to make stuffed peppers, which I generally just wing, when I had another thought. Why not add the pile of zucchini leftover and dice some of the green pepper into the "filling" for a one-pot unstuffed recipe? The results were delicious. I topped mine with some Parmesan and my non-dairy eater's with Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella (found at Whole Foods). It made many, many servings. I plan to freeze the leftovers and stuff an acorn squash or two in the future.

Unstuffed Zucchini
1 pound ground beef (I used Laura's Lean)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, diced 2 medium zucchini, shredded 1 small green pepper, diced 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce 2 1/2 cups cooked rice
Generous amounts of each: Dried oregano, bail, marjoram, thyme and cracked rosemary (Penzey's Italian Herb Mix) Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan or mozzarella if desired

Cook rice. Meanwhile, in large skillet, saute green peppers and onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add beef and fully cook and drain. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes then add rice. Simmer another 10 minutes or until rice absorbs all the sauce. Serve with cheese if desired.



And in case you missed it the first time...

Gluten-free Zucchini Pineapple Bread
1 cup gf flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar or other sweetener to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine dry ingredients (first seven) in medium-sized mixing bowl. Place egg, sugar, vanilla and pineapple in stand-up mixer. Mix on medium speed a few minutes or until smooth. Add zucchini and then dry mixture and incorporate. Batter will be runny.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.


For sale prices at Hiller's, or to request a specific gluten-free item, check out their website here.