Friday, September 27, 2019

My First Attempt at Zoodles

Missy Tippens

I finally used my veggie spiralizer! I only bought it about a year ago. :) When a saw a really tasty-sounding recipe from WW (formerly Weight Watchers), I decided to pull out that zoodler and put it to good use.


The recipe that inspired my dish is called "Veggie 'Pasta' with Lemon, Chives and Goat Cheese." I didn't share a link because I believe you have to be a member to see the recipes. Here's my take on it:

3-4 squash (I used yellow and zucchini)
Goat cheese crumbles
2 lemons (zest and juice)
Chicken broth (about 1 cup)
pre-shredded carrots (or make a whole carrot into "noodles")
Fresh asparagus, chopped
chives (I didn't have any)
shallot (I didn't have a fresh one so used dried ones and let them absorb some broth)



Make the "noodles" using whatever method you use.


Look at all the "noodles" I got from 4 squash!



Wait. Back up a few hours! While making my lunch that day, I realized I could use the last of the rotisserie chicken carcass to simmer and make some homemade broth. It turned out amazing and was a great use of something I had planned to just throw away. I'll start doing this every time and freezing it.


Now back to the recipe. :) I sautéed my dried shallots in about a cup of chicken broth to rehydrate them. (Actually, I used about 2 cups, which was way too much chicken broth, and it was almost like soup. So start out with 3/4 to 1 cup and move up from there.)


Meanwhile, I zested the lemon.



Then I added the carrots and asparagus to the pan.



Once the asparagus had cooked just a bit, I stirred in the lemon juice and zest and half of the goat cheese.

I bought this kind but will probably use the softer "tubed" kind that I love so much next time I make this.


Then I added the noodles and tossed them with tongs to mix. Here's everything stirred together after the cheese has melted. Don't cook too long or noodles will get mushy.


We served and topped each bowl with additional cheese crumbles. Very tasty and healthy!


10 comments:

  1. This looks so good, Missy!

    I have a spiralizer from Pampered Chef, and I love it. For one person, I usually use about 1/2 a zucchini for zoodles. And you're so right about not cooking it too long!

    One thing we had to get over with things like zoodles is that they don't taste like regular pasta. They aren't meant to! So we learned to enjoy them for what they are!

    And did you know that restaurants like Noodles & Co. have zucchini noodles on their menu? Basically wonderful. :-)

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    1. Jan, they did almost taste like noodles to me! But I bet it’s because it was cheesy—which made it taste richer.

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  2. Well, I'm gobsmacked! I had no idea there was an official zoodler! Or a spiralizer as Jan mentioned. My kitchen is inadequatley stocked! I have a veggeie peeler and a knife. lol

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    1. Kav, look on Amazon to see the selection. I’m sure you could find several at a kitchen store or any department store that has kitchen items. I think I’ve even seen them at my grocery store!

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  3. I have someone who doesn't like squash in the house. So I have not tried these. (Sad panda) Does it make up the fact that I have used spaghetti squash for noodles before? I love using leftover chicken bones to make broth. It's been a while, but my favorite is my 24 hour or 48 hour crock pot stock. Slow cooks and has so much flavor!

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    1. Katie, I like spaghetti squash as noodles, too! Slow cooking sounds like a great way to do it.

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  4. This recipe sounds delicious! =)
    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I’m sorry to be so late in responding! I’m at the ACFW conference and totally forgot to drop by yesterday. My days are blurring together. Haha

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  6. Wow, that's a fancy zoodle machine, Missy. I love zoodles and use them in place of pasta all the time.

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