The Most Amazing Summer Squash Casserole

As you all well know, the garden has kept us busy trying to find recipes that help us use up the crazy amount of veggies we are producing. This particular recipe is one of our absolute FAVORITES. It's so easy and simple and it tastes amazing, so I won't make this post any longer before giving you the recipe. ;-)

Fresh out of the oven!

SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:

1 Medium Zucchini (cubed)

1 Medium Yellow Summer Squash (cubed)

1 Half of a Medium Sized Eggplant (cubed)

Summer Squash Casserole

1 Small Container of Mushrooms
1 Half of a Large Onion (chopped)

3 TBSP Olive Oil

1 Container Cream of Mushroom Soup
2/3 Cup of Sour Cream
2 Cups Cheddar Cheese
1 TSP Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 Sleeves of Buttery Townhouse Crackers
2 TBSP Butter (melted)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add in mushrooms and onion. When tender, transfer to a large bowl. Then, heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat and add in zucchini, squash, and eggplant. When tender, transfer to the bowl of mushrooms and onions.

Add in the cream of mushroom soup, the sour cream, the cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the ingredients into a greased 9X13 casserole dish. Then, put the crackers into a large ziplock bag and crush them using your hands or you can use a cup to roll over them. Then add in the melted butter and zip the bag back up. Use your hands to combine the crackers and butter. Using a measuring cup, sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole until evenly covered.

Place the casserole into the oven on a center rack and cook for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. 

Enjoy!

--Kayla

Adventures in Eating

How our garden looked at the beginning of the season

Jon and I created our first garden this year. At the moment, it's pretty wild and out of control. Being away for several weekends for weddings and other various events has made for a pretty chaotic scene in our backyard. The zucchini plants are enormous and the tomato plants have basically taken over everything and are spilling out the tops of our raised beds... Despite the craziness, having a garden is something Jon and I both love. However, if you have ever had a zucchini plant (or a tomato plant), you know what I mean when I say that those things grow like weeds. Moral of the story is that we have a ton of zucchini... and that means we get creative when trying to use it.

Last night I decided to make something different and new for dinner with our abundance of zucchini. I recently ordered a vegetable noodle-maker (basically you just attach a hearty vegetable to it, spin it, and it makes noodles--crazy! You should get one.), so I decided to spin some of our zucchini into noodles for pasta. I looked around in our cabinets (which are pretty barren) and found that we had some organic sun-dried tomatoes, so I decided to try my hand at making a sauce out of them with some of our fresh herbs from our window garden... 

Let's just say it was super freakin' delicious and I'm passing on the recipe to you so you can find out for yourself!


ZUCCHINI PASTA W/ CHICKEN & HOMEMADE SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL SAUCE
(Recipe makes 2 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

Zucchini Pasta w/ Sun-dried Tomato Basil Sauce

Pasta:
-1 large zucchini

Sauce:
-1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes
-1 1/2 cups milk (or almond milk if you are going dairy free)
-Few pinches of fresh basil, oregano, and thyme
-1 tablespoon fresh garlic
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Chicken:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-5 chicken tenderloins
-Dash of salt and pepper
-Few pinches of flour

DIRECTIONS:
Place the zucchini in a Tri-Blade Turning Vegetable Slicer (using as directed for noodles) and spin until you get to the end of the zucchini. Place the "noodles" into a small pot and set aside (or freeze them to use for later!). 

Cut the 5 chicken tenderloins into cubes and place them into a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour and stir until lightly coated. Set aside. 

In a food processor, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, milk, garlic, and fresh herbs and pulse until well blended. Transfer to a sauce pan and heat on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Add in salt, pepper and cayenne, making sure to stir frequently or the oil from the tomatoes will start to separate. 

While the sauce is cooking, heat up a frying pan with some olive oil on medium heat. When the pan is hot, add in the chicken. Cook the chicken until it has just turned white and add it to the sauce (doing it this way prevents the chicken from drying out and keeps it tender). 

Take your pot of zucchini noodles and heat them up on medium heat for about 5 minutes (you just want them to be warm). 

When your zucchini is done, transfer to a bowl and top with sauce! Garnish with fresh basil and thyme and voila! Easy meal that is super tasty! 

--Kayla