The Trouble with Tribbles.....Wait, I meant Zucchini!

Every year I plant a garden.

And every year I have more zucchini than I know what to do with.

Even when you bring it in the house, it still manages to multiply on your counter top!

Three years ago, I found something that would change things forever.

Suddenly, I was the crazy lady who begged everyone she knew with a garden for their excess of zucchini!

What made this drastic change?

One simple little recipe and 2 local fairs.

I was like everyone else, racking my brain for different ways to use up all the zucchini.

I scoured the internet for recipes.

I dug through cook books hundreds of years old.

I found all kinds of cakes, casseroles and other recipes using the zucchini as a substitution.

Finally, I found something that really intrigued me

Zucchini Jelly

Now here was something novel I had never seen.

It used zucchini and you could make it any flavor you could imagine.

So I gathered up all my zucchini, juggled them into the house and got to work!

I finished my first batch, fixed up a piece of home made bread and jelly for everyone, handed them out, and waiting for the reviews.

Everyone said the same thing. You couldn't tell there was any zucchini in it!

I was so pleased with it I entered it in both the local county fair and the local small town fair.

It ended up taking first in both fairs for both taste and appearance!

 

So here it is. My blue ribbon zucchini jelly recipe!

Zucchini Jelly

Ingredients:

6 cups of zucchini, peeled, seeded and shredded

6 cups of white sugar

1 can of crushed pineapple, drained ( 15 oz)

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1 package of strawberry jello ( 6 oz)

Combine the zucchini, sugar, pineapple, and lemon juice in a large pot over medium heat. Boil mixture until the zucchini is clear; remove from heat. Add jello and stir until completely dissolved.

You can use any flavor of jello you want, this is what gives the jelly it's flavor. I like strawberry the best because it tastes just like strawberry freezer jam!

 
Ladle into hot, sterilized pint jars to within about 1/4 inch of the top. Seal, and process in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes.

That's it!

It's an extremely simple recipe that tastes incredible!

It's also great for people who are a little nervous about learning to can and don't know where to start.

It's almost impossible to fail making this and it's guaranteed to be a huge hit!

Now go freak your neighbors out and ask them if they have any extra zucchini.

What flavor did you make?