Zucchini Pie.

Our friends C and R used to bring their famous zucchini pie to all of our parties, and if you were lucky enough to get to the buffet table early, then you got a slice of this delicious pie. If you went up for seconds, all of the pie was gone, even the tiny crumbs. When they came here during Thanksgiving week last year, R brought all the ingredients for the pie and she made it as part of our pre-Thanksgiving Day dinner. Totally delicious, as always, and she wrote down the recipe for me. I've been meaning to type it in here ever since.... just kept forgetting to do it.

The crust--- it's made from a package of Pillsbury Crescent rolls. I always buy the low-fat package. After spraying a normal-sized glass pie pan (not deep-dish) with a non-stick spray, you roll out the Crescent dough and press the triangles together to form the crust. Easy to do this right in the glass pan, not on the counter. Once the dough is all formed and set into the pan, you brush it all with a couple of teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Don't omit this part, if you go to "tweaking" the recipe, because the mustard (Dijon is best for this) really makes a difference.

Into a large skillet--- use either two large zucchini, or three medium-sized ones--- wash the skins, cut off the top and bottom, then slice the zucchini into very thin rounds. Again, spray the skillet with non-stick spray-- you can add a little butter if you like. Once the zucchini is all in the pan, cut up a small to medium-sized onion... chop it up into thin one-inch pieces and add those to the zucchini. Keep watch on the skillet because you'll have to keep turning and tossing until everything gets lightly browned and happy together.

Spices--- when the zucchini/onion mixture is more than halfway done, add in one teaspoon of oregano, one teaspoon of basil, and a quarter of a cup of chopped fresh (FRESH!!) parsley. Then add two teaspoons (more if you like) of minced garlic. Let all of that saute in the pan and get even happier. (Dried parsley somehow doesn't work as well in this recipe.)

Into a large bowl-- beat two large eggs, two cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, a bit of pepper. Mix all of that up in the bowl.... the mixture will be thick. When the zucchini/onions are done, add that to the cheese mixture and gently fold everything together. Pour that mixture into the prepared crust. Put the glass pan on a cookie sheet with a bit of foil underneath--- you will want to turn up the foil so it's protecting the edges of the crust. (Otherwise, the crust edges will get too well-done before the pie mixture is cooked.)

Into a 375-degree oven it goes..... for about 35 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven. Check the center with a toothpick or a knife. The center should be a tiny bit moist, not dripping. Then let it sit on the counter-top for at least five or ten minutes before you slice it.

Since C and R gave me this recipe, I've been making it once a week, without fail. I've tweaked the recipe quite a few times, adding spinach instead of zucchini -- good, but not as good as the zucchini. I've also used half the amount of zucchini and added in about a cup of cooked and flaked salmon-- totally delicious. This recipe was a Pillsbury Bake-Off winner years and years ago, and that's where R got the recipe in the first place. The original recipe called for cooking the zucchini and onions in one stick of butter. No one, absolutely no one, needs that much butter in an eight or nine-inch pie. I've cut out all of that butter for the cooking, just using the non-stick spray, and when the zucchini and onions are just about done, I will add a tablespoon of butter for the flavor. With all of the cheese that's in this recipe, you do not miss the butter. I have to admit that when R was here and added in that whole stick of butter, I just cringed. I knew right then that I'd be making that pie myself without all the added fat.

In our recently-planted vegetable garden, we have zucchini growing, as well as parsley and oregano and basil. We're planning on summer-long home-grown zucchini pies. The fresh parsley is a must in the above recipe, and I plan to use fresh oregano and basil as well. So far so good with the garden.... everything is growing and happy and I'm hoping for some delicious vegetables.