Eat your (seasonal) vegetables!

Some of the cardinal rules of cooking at my house are:

1. Use what you've already got to put together dinner tonight

2. Use what is plentiful and therefore...Cheap

 There isn't any reason to go out and buy special ingredients for a complex recipe when what you already have will usually work. Also, when you stick with what is in season and therefore plentiful you will likely reduce your grocery bill a bit.

 KISS (or keep it simple stupid) is usually another cardinal rule for me in the kitchen. If it's too complex at the end of the work day, I'm going to get flustered and give up. Then everyone is hungry and grumpy....

See? This poor lady didn't keep it simple!

So when I thought about what to do for dinner tonight, I asked myself what was already in my kitchen that I could work with...

 Some beautiful tomatoes...

And zucchini!

 Put 'em together....and add some garlic, basil, oregano, mozzarella cheese, a little spaghetti sauce, maybe a few gluten free breadcrumbs...

and Voila!

Zucchini Tomato Casserole

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 medium tomatoes

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup parmesan or romano cheese

1.5 teaspoons powder

1.5 teaspoons parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic or garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Optional: 1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Grease (I use Olive Oil Pam Spray) casserole dish

In lare skillet saute sliced zucchini with one tablespoon of olive oil until slightly tender, and drain water off

In large bowl combine remaining ingredients (except bread crumbs)

Stir in zucchini w. other ingredients (and add in one tablespoon olive oil)

Transfer to your baking dish

Top with breadcrumbs (if using) and some more parmesan cheese, mozzarellla, or some cheddar cheese.

Bake, uncovered at 350 for approximately 30 minutes (or until cheese is bubbly). Remove and let stand for 10 minutes prior to serving.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with some fresh corn on the cob, and finish the meal off with some of Kenda's Peach Cobbler, and you have a light (as long as you go easy on the cobbler), delicious, vegetarian, summertime meal.