Zucchini Cheese Pie

Ah, August. In the northeast U.S., we’ve reached high zucchini season.You’ve probably been given at least one that is the size of a small child by a well-meaning neighbor or coworker (or maybe that’s just me?). By now, you’ve had it sauteed, grilled, diced in sauce, buttered, and still have enough left over to feed a small army. What else is there? Well, my fellow readers, there is zucchini cheese pie.

I sampled this a few weeks ago at my parents’ house. My stepmom made this as a rare indulgence for her and my dad (for a variety of health reasons, they eat a very, very low-fat diet). She introduced it to me as zucchini cheesecake, to which I made the kind of face that a toddler makes when being forced to eat peas. To be polite, I tried a slice and it was a fluffy, quiche-like piece of heaven, and I felt it would be unkind for me not to share.

You will need:

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

4 eggs or 1 cup egg beaters

1/3 to 1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 C. parmesan cheese

1/2 C. grated mild cheddar cheese

6 slices American cheese in pieces

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1/2 C. diced onion

1/2 C. oil (vegetable, corn, or canola all work)

3 C. sliced zucchini (grated on grater then chop)

1 ½ C Bisquick (regular or low-fat are both fine. Stepmom uses low-fat)

 

Put Bisquick in bowl first, add oil and eggs. Mix well with beaters. Or by hand if you prefer, it’ll just take longer.

Add other ingredients and mix well.

 

Pour into (butter) greased dish. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 45 min. Watch for it to get slightly browned on top. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.

Note from my stepmom: keep an eye on this as it gets close to the 30-minute mark. If it overcooks, it gets dried out. She also notes that making extra is advisable because aside from being delicious, it also freezes well for later nommage (I may have made that last word up).