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Enjoying summer's bounty

rachel_swick
July 21, 2014

I don’t know about you, but our garden is producing vegetables by the truckload. I am now overcome with zucchini, squash, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. It can be hard to use every single vegetable, but it is my personal challenge to make this happen!

This weekend, I made two loaves of zucchini-peach bread, which used up one zucchini and two peaches I had kicking around. We also had tomato and cucumber sandwiches for lunch and pasta Parmesan with zucchini and tomatoes for dinner. For Sunday lunch, I made a Mexican lasagna ahead so it just needed to be baked and topped with tomatoes. Dinner included a Baked Zucchini Gratin and Quick Pickled Cucumbers.

Enjoying the summer’s bounty is also a great opportunity to add meat-free meals to your cooking repertoire. Here are some of the recipes I made this weekend:

 

Quick Mexican Lasagna

Sometimes you need a quick lunch that will fill the family up for a busy day. This Mexican Lasagna can be made ahead and fits the bill!

You Will Need:

Large Pie Dish

6 tortillas (I used flour, but corn or gluten-free would also work)

Refried beans

Whole beans (black, pinto or cannellini all work well – 1 can)

Can of Mexicorn

Can of Diced Tomatoes with chiles

Shredded Cheese (taco cheese, cheddar or monterey jack is fine)

1/2 cup cream cheese (I used leftover whipped cream cheese, but any kind should be fine)

Instructions:

1. Drain beans, corn and most of the liquid from the diced tomatoes with chiles.

2. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except tortillas and cheese. Make sure it is well incorporated.

3. Put 1/3 of the bean mixture in the bottom of the pie plate.

4. Top with three tortillas to cover as much as possible.

5. Layer in half of the remaining bean mixture.

6. Top with three more tortillas to cover bean mixture.

7. Add remaining bean mixture and top with shredded cheese.

At this point, you can refrigerate the Mexican lasagna until you are ready to use it. When you are ready, pop it into a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and lasagna is heated through. Top with homegrown tomatoes and anything else you might like such as black olives or sour cream. Enjoy!

 

Baked Zucchini Gratin

The world is full of new zucchini recipes, especially during the summer. I whipped this up for our Sunday dinner and it was delicious!

You Will Need:

Baking dish (mine was 9.5 x 11, but any size should work)

1-2 zucchinis depending on size

Half stick butter (could also use olive or coconut oil)

Melting cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

Parmesan cheese

Bread crumbs

Instructions:

1. Slice the zucchini thinly. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In large skillet, melt butter and add sliced zucchini. Toss to coat with butter, add salt and pepper. Cook about 2-3 minutes.

3. Pour zucchini into baking dish.

4. Top with shredded Parmesan and shredded melting cheese.

5. Top with shaking of bread crumbs.

6. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until it is bubbling and browned on top.

Serve warm and enjoy!

 

What are your favorite summer vegetable recipes?

  • Real Parents. Real Food. Real Fun.

    Welcome to Adventures in Drool! Talking about green living, getting rid of plastics and toxic chemicals in our homes and raising happy kids on a budget. Join the conversation (www.adventuresindrool.com) and don't forget to Like us on Facebook!

    Rachel Swick Mavity, author of the blog, lives with a reformed drooler (Droolface), who at age 3 loves to get muddy, drink homemade smoothies, giggle and flirt with old ladies. Her current drooler (Birdy) enjoys spitting up on work clothes and leaving drool trails as a way of showing her love.

    Mavity previously worked as a journalist for seven years at newspapers from Pennsylvania to Maryland and Delaware. In Sussex County she worked for several newspapers, including the Cape Gazette. She lives in Lewes with her husband, Ryan Mavity, their son, "Droolface," and daughter, "Birdy." 

     

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