Cheddar Zucchini Bread!

This is yet another great way to use up your zucchini that is so plentiful right now.  Another great thing about recipes like this is that the zucchini that you somehow miss and it gets to be so big it's really not suitable for much else, can be shredded and put in bread and it's just fine.  Have you ever wondered how the zucchini hide like that?  No matter how well you look every single day, there will always be that giant zucchini that just seems to grow out of nowhere in your garden.  I just hate to throw those away, so we make bread with them.  This is not a sweet bread like most people make with zucchini, which is wonderful also, but it is a savory bread.  This bread is good to slice thin for sandwich spreads, like pimento cheese, ham salad, even tuna or chicken salad.  I tried it with one of my favorite sandwich spreads...olive nut cream cheese spread.   I will give you the recipe for that also in case you want to make some.   This bread would also be great with just some butter and served with soups or stews.   It's also very easy to make.  Here is all you will need.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter melted
2 1/2 cups Bisquick or any baking mix
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
3 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and pour into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. 

Turn out onto platter or cutting board to slice.  It's good warm right from the oven or after it cools.

 

Olive Nut Cream Cheese Spread

1 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup chopped salad olives
1 Tbs juice from olives

Blend the softened cream cheese with the other ingredients.  I used salad olives so they didn't need much chopping, but if you used the whole olives, rough chop them.  You want to be sure to get the olives with the pimento in them for this.

It should be well blended and be very spreadable. After you refrigerate it, before using it for your sandwich, take it out of the refrigerator for about 15 - 20 minutes so that it softens and is more spreadable.

This is delicious served on fresh baked bread.  A bakery in our town that has probably been in business for over a 100 years, has sandwiches with this spread  on their fresh baked bread every day. If I stop in there for anything, I have to have one of these sandwiches. My sister used to always love them also when she lived here.  It's perfect for this zucchini bread and it also makes a nice filling for celery.