This recipe is for all you green thumbs out there who have a garden bursting with summer vegetables.
I can’t include myself in that group. My thumb is so brown, it’s almost black. I started a container garden on our patio this year. Nothing elaborate, just a few herbs and some green beans that Meghan planted at school and gave me for Mother’s Day. The container garden I was so hopeful for is about 90 percent dead right now.
The kicker is I really am not sure why. It could have just as easily been lack of water as too much water. I tried to water them enough, but we did have two long weekends away consecutively. But then again, we’ve gotten so much rain and some days it’s come down so hard that everything is soaked in a matter of minutes. Maybe the poor plants were drowned. Can plants drown? Who knows? Not me.
The green bean plant is the one doing the best; it allowed me to harvest just enough to feed Meghan and Luke a side dish for one meal.
I had grandiose plans of having a large vegetable garden once we owned a house with our own land. Now, the idea of it frightens me. So much work and what makes me think I’m actually going to be able to keep something alive? Even my mint is mostly dead and that is supposedly the easily thing to grow on the planet.
For now, I will have to be happy being a part of a community supported agriculture group (CSA) and enjoy my local, organic vegetables delivered to my front door instead of being picked from my backyard.
For anyone local who is reading, I am a part of Fulton Farm’s Happy Box program. This is my fourth year and we love it. It’s that time of year when the zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes are plentiful, so I created this Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Tomato bake as an easy side dish to use up a good amount of the lovely summer vegetables.
Most summer vegetable casserole-type dishes I come across use loads of Italian cheeses. I took this in a little different direction and lightened it up by using a smaller amount of goat cheese. Goat cheese and thyme is a classic combination that I utilized here and it worked really well. The result was a lot of flavor, but the overall dish was not heavy at all. Give this one a try; I think you’ll enjoy it!
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Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Tomato Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: serves 4 - 6 1x
Description
This zucchini, summer squash, and tomato bake is a great way to use your summer vegetables. It’s a light side dish: a lot of flavor without all the heaviness! You can use all zucchini or all summer squash instead of a mix of the two–use what you have on hand!
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchinis, sliced
- 1 large summer squash, sliced
- 4 large tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme or 3 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
- salt
- pepper
- 3–4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
Instructions
- Preparation step: After you slice your zucchini, layer them on a baking rack on top of a baking sheet. Sprinkle salt on top of them generously and let them sit for at least 20 minutes. This helps draw out the water and makes for a less watery casserole. Rinse and dry the slices. If you skip this step, just expect a more watery casserole. (It will be slightly watery because of the tomatoes as it is.)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter or lightly oil a medium baking dish. Lay half of the zucchini slices on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with about 1/5 of the thyme, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then add about 1/5 of the goat cheese crumbles. On top of that layer, add a layer of tomatoes and again top with thyme, salt, pepper, and goat cheese. Next, add a layer of summer squash and top with more thyme, salt, pepper, and goat cheese. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes and a final layer of zucchini. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 6 servings
- Calories: 84
- Sugar: 4.1g
- Sodium: 85.1mg
- Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 7.1g
- Protein: 4.8g
Keywords: Vegetable side dish
perfect timing. I have a HUGE zucchini that someone gave me (my thumb is practically black too) so it will work perfectly. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome! I love when a recipe falls into my lap that works perfectly with what I already have. 🙂
This looks so delicious and refreshing! Lately it seems like I have only been wanted to eat veggies. I guess that’s a good problem to have 🙂
Definitely a good problem to have!
i don’t have a green thumb either. luckily, my husband and father in law both do and they plant us a tomato garden each year 🙂
Ahh that’s the next best thing!
No green thumb here but this recipe looks great!
Thanks, Jillian! 🙂