Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Squash and tomatoes


I have been blessed with an abundance of yellow and zucchini squash, tomatoes  and cucumbers.  It is a wonderful problem because I love garden vegetables.  However, I do need some new ideas about squash recipes.  If anyone has great squash recipes that use a lot of squash, let me know. 

Tomatoes have taste, something I tend to forget throughout the winter.  We had BLT's yesterday, caprese salad Saturday, and I tried a wonderful Greek Pasta Salad recipe from Pinterest that calls for tomatoes and cucumbers.  I have included this recipe below and I highly recommend it.



Greek pasta salad with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette


Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients

For the dressing:
1 garlic clove
7 sun-dried or slow-roasted tomato halves, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp plain nonfat yogurt
1 tsp Greek seasoning
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 tsp honey (or sugar substitute)

5-6 tsp water

For the salad:
8 oz rotini or other twisty pasta
1-1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes, any type
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup pitted large black olives, sliced in half
3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, or more to taste

Directions
In a blender, combine all dressing ingredients, and blend on high speed until smooth. If you'd like the dressing thinner, add a bit more water. Set aside.
Bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in a large pot. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and add to a large mixing bowl.

Combine all remaining ingredients in the mixing bowl along with as much of the dressing as you like. Garnish with some extra dill fronds, and serve at room temperature.
(from theperfectpantry.com recipes)
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Another recipe from Pinterest I prepared and loved is included below--just be aware that you need to parboil, steam or otherwise precook potatoes before adding this to this dish if you use Idaho potato.  New potatoes may cook faster.

Stacked Squash Casserole

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato
1 tsp dried thyme
to taste salt and pepper
1 cup grated cheese (I used Italian blend and Gouda)

I added other spices that I like (e.g. oregano, basil) and also probably doubled the recipe as I have no medium size squash!

 STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

STEP 2: While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

STEP 3: Spray the inside of an 8x8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

STEP 4: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.


Stacked Squash Casserole
( from budgetbytes.blogspot.com)


So, I'm going to turn my old Chambers oven on as I wait for folks to share their delicious squash recipes.  In the meantime, I think I'll stir up some zucchini bread!







2 comments:

  1. Mmmmmm--home-grown tomatoes make my mouth water! And I LOVE that oven!!

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    1. There is nothing like homegrown tomato! We bought that stove at garage sale--Pam K's father sold this appliance to family friend many years ago, and when someone else bought the house after friend's death, they put it in garage sale. Pam saw it, told me about it and we bought it. It cost us more to move it than purchase it! It is HEAVY. I have a regular gas range in the cottage.

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