Z is for ZUCCHINI

I've mentioned before that we aren't huge zucchini and squash fans around here (unless the squash is fried).  But we do like some baked squash casserole every now and then, and I like fruited squash, and we even enjoyed zucchini bread.  Still, I am looking for a squash and zucchini recipe that makes me go, "WOW!"

This came pretty close.  In fact, Zach liked it quite a bit.  It was on the spicy side--I think I used too much pepper and garlic powder.  *lol*  I made the mistake of slicing my zucchini slices too thin.  We got this zucchini from our landlords/neighbors who have a garden on their farm.  They brought us three bags of groceries that included such random things as red and golden potatoes, jalapeños, and a cantaloup.  They also gave us a ton of cucumbers, but they were bitter.  :(  The delicious cantaloup made up for them.  :)

Parmesan-Roasted Zucchini

squash, sliced 1/2-3/4 inch thick

olive oil spray

olive oil

salt

pepper

garlic powder

grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray.
Place cut zucchini on cookie sheet.  Using a pastry brush, brush the side facing upward.
Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Top with grated parmesan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and fork tender.  Serve hot.  :)

I served these with roasted rosemary potatoes, green beans, and leftover homemade breadsticks.  We love veggie night!

(To balance my veggies, I definitely had a HUGE bowl of ice cream for dessert at 11 o'clock at night after watching the Fab Five take the gold in gymnastics and Michael Phelps be crowned the best Olympian athlete with his 19th win.  ;)

Photo a Day in July #29

29.  Last Thing You Bought

Our friend Brian was in state for a short visit, and he came up to visit us in NWA!  (Sadly, he was sans his wife Whitney, who is teaching a class this summer session.  :( )  Thus far, he and Zach have been catching up over several beers and scotch.  *lol*  When Zach mentioned that a Flying Fish opened up here, I jumped all over the chance to convince him that we had to go there for dinner.  ;)  You may recall that I went there twice for my birthday!  Flying Fish is a special place for us because it was where we had dinner on our first (group) date with...Brian and Whitney!  So it only seemed appropriate that we go.  Zach and I actually filled up our punch card, so my meal was free!  I guess that breaks the rules a bit, but I/we paid for it by having eaten at FF for at least nine times since they opened.  (Yep, NINE times.)  That's a lot of fish...and fried pies.  (I skipped on the fried pie since we still have ice cream cake in the freezer.)  When I realized that my free meal would be covered up to $9, I upgraded from the two fillet to the three.  ;)  I also had one of Zach's hashpuppies.  I ate myself silly, folks.

In addition to catching up some more over dinner, we got to watch the lady gymnasts on the vault.  (Whitney was a gymnast and a gymnastics coach, so Brian knows quite a bit about it, too.)  Do y'all love the Olympics, too??  I love watching gymnastics, swimming, and diving.  I'm bummed I missed uneven bars tonight, and I am mourning the loss of Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson from this year's.  (So far, I've seen a good deal of the first two, but I've got to catch some diving, too, soon!  We don't have cable, so my Olympics watching depends on moving around our rabbit ears.  We are so 1988...)

Poor Jordyn Wieber...  :*(

Photo a Day in July #28

28.  Cup

So we got a Deal Piggy (like a Groupon or Living Social voucher) for the excursion train that runs from Springdale to Van Buren and decided to go this weekend for Zach's birthday.  We got up at six to leave at seven to get on the train by eight.  Ugh.  It was a beautiful ride, although the conductors were kind of crazy.  *lol*  When we got into VB at elevenish, we met up with Kevin and Bree for lunch at Boom-a-rang, a hamburger diner-type place.  We all got burger baskets, and then Zach and I ended up splitting this delicious creamsicle float.  :)  After lunch, we went back to their place in Fort Smith and hung out and watched the kitties.  We had to be back for the train at 2:30, so they dropped us off and then we headed home.  I had brought The Hobbit to read but didn't touch it because I was so sleepy on the way there and then had a sinus headache on the way back.  I have the sweetest husband though; he dropped me off at home so he could run some errands for us and then surprised me with some caramel cookie dough ice cream from Braum's!  I was feeling better at this point, so we cleaned up the house, and now he's downstairs playing his new Xbox, and I am watching the Olympics upstairs.  Here's some pictures from our day:

Leibster Award--My FIRST Award!

THANKS, CARRIE, FOR NOMINATING ME!  (It's the first time I've ever been nominated for anything.  :)

1. If you could invite any 5 people (living or dead, real or fictional) to do something, who would it be? And what would you do?

I would invite the poet T. S. Eliot (I wrote my undergrad thesis on The Waste Land), style icon/actress/humanitarian Audrey Hepburn, my favorite Beatle George Harrison, Raziela "Razi" Nolan from The Mercy of Thin Air (my favorite book), and Harry's best friend Ronald "Ron" Bilius Weasley.

2. Coffee or tea? Or neither?

sweet tea, no ice (unless it's just been made and is hot)

3. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, it would be ...

Cheez-Its

4. A bad habit you have ...

When I yawn, I turn it into this long, drawn-out "AHHHHHHH..."

5. A good habit you have ...

If you are on my side/my team/my friend/my relative/whatever, I am extremely loyal.

6. You can't resist ...

Ben and Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream (or, as I once called it, Mudlin Dubslide)...or cream on my snow cones

7. If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one thing, it would be ...

you need to read more, Ashley!  Don't waste so much time on AOL...

8. Something that made you happy today was ...
having a yummy lunch and dessert and talking for four hours with a friend at the cutest little cottage bakery

9. One book you haven't read but have always wanted to is ...

Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

(I'm reading The Hobbit for the first time now.  :)

10.You have $50 to spend on yourself. What would you do/buy?

I would probably go to Target and buy some cardigans and dresses and random stuff.  I love Target! (In fact, I LOVE it so much that it was the first place I visited after being released from the hospital in December--I also had to finish up Christmas shopping since it was the Friday before Christmas.  Here I am in all of my motorized-cart-and-surgical-mask glory!  I was smiling under that mask, but you can't tell.  *lol*)

NOMINEES -- TAG!  YOU'RE IT!  Answer the questions below; then dream up your own question set and tag how many bloggers you wish. :)


1.  Craft | Cook | Create
2.  From L.A. to LA
3.  In Passionate Pursuit

4.  Life After . . .

5.  The Sandefur Family

I hope you can all participate!

QUESTIONS

1.  What did you do on/for your last birthday?

2.  What Olympic sports do you like to watch?

3.  Do you have any special routines before bed?  What are they?

4.  Are you more of a caramel-choolate person or a mint-chocolate one?

5.  Describe (and/or share ;) the most FUN/SILLY embarrassing picture (not truly embarrassing) you have posted/had posted of yourself on a social media website.

6.  Who did you have a crush on when you were ten?

7.  Do you have any surprising hobbies or talents?

8.  How many states have you visited?

9.  What is the best joke you've heard lately?

How much does a hipster weigh?

An INSTAGRAM!  

(And, y'all, I love me so Instagram, so I am probably sorta hipstery, so don't be offended!)