Green Goddess Butter Bean

Found this delicious healthy, vegan/vegetarian meal on Instagram. Made it a couple times, and highly recommend!

Green Goddess Butter Bean

from #itsvegansis

Ingredients:

drizzle of olive oil

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced

~4 oz. spinach (2-3 cups, packed)

1 cup fresh basil, packed

1 cup cream (coconut or regular)

2-15 oz. cans (2 cups) butter beans, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

drizzle of olive oil

lemon juice

plain yogurt (vegan or regular)

basil, rough chopped or chiffonade

cracked black pepper

toasted multi-grain bread or cooked rice

Instructions:

1. In a large pan on medium-high heat, cook zucchini, onion, and garlic until soft. Add spinach, and cook until wilted.

2. To a blender, add cooked vegetables, basil, and cream. Blend until smooth.

3. Add puree back to pan on low heat. Add beans and cook until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Drizzle with additional olive, lemon juice, dollops of yogurt, and cracked black pepper. Serve with toasted bread or rice and enjoy!

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a recipe from Truman State University's Food Service! They would sometimes serve this in the food hall and I asked the staff enough times for the recipe I finally got it! The original was for an industrial-sized batch, so this is a normal pan's worth. Made this recently again for my friend's kid's second birthday party and it was a huge hit. I'm not a fan of the cream cheese frosting recipe, so I am not posting it. Honestly It's delicious and moist and flavorful on it's own and does not require frosting but should you so choose, I recommend using your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.

Tip: Double this recipe if you want a cake instead of bars in the same sized pan. Increase cooking time accordingly.

Zucchini Bars

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 scant tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup shredded zucchini with moisture squeezed out (measure after squeezing)
1.5 oz. walnuts

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. In a medium bowl, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix.
3. In a large bowl, combine oil and eggs. Mix well. Sift in dry ingredients and combine.
4. Shred zucchini. Then place in a cheesecloth or a very thin dish towel and squeeze over the sink until you can't get any more moisture out. Add zucchini and walnuts to the batter and fold in.
5. Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan. Pour in batter and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.