Zucchini and yellow squash were on sale at the local market. Now, I LOVE these two things. But, Mr. Foodie isn't as crazy about them as I am. So, I had to do a little convincing to let me plan a dinner around these two ingredients. But, I won in the end, and was excited to try something new.
I decided to just wing it, and throw together some yummy summer produce and see what happened. Well, the result was tasty. We served this summer skillet with natural chicken sausages and crusty bread, and I must say it was a very satisfying meal.
So, here is my recipe for a tasty summer skillet (and I wasn't planning on blogging on this when I started, so I am going from memory here)...
Ingredients:
1/2 a sweet onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbls. olive oil
1 zucchini, cut into half moons
1 yellow squash, cut into half moons
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup matchstick carrots
1 parmesan rind cut into small pieces
1 large can peeled tomatoes
2 tbls. tomato paste
10-15 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded (I can make up a word, right?)
Crushed red repper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper. to taste
Freshly grated parmesan
Crusty bread
How to make it:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan
2. Saute the onions and garlic until fragrant and the onions are translucent
3. Put the zucchini, squash, red pepper, and carrots in the pan and toss with the oil, onion, and garlic
4. Season with crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper
5. Cook until zucchini and squash begin to soften, 3-5 minutes or so
6. Add the can of tomatoes, tomato paste, and parmesan rind
7. Add basil and additional seasoning if desired
8. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes
9. Serve hot with fresh parmesan sprinkled on top and bread to sop up the delicious juice
Ok... so this is not rocket science. But, I was so pleased with how this turned out. And, I think you can use the veggies that you love. And you could season this however you like. We had fresh basil and I love basil, so that made sense. But, I see this as one of those blank canvas type dishes. As long as you have the foundation, you can change it up each time you make it!
The parmesan rind was a last minute addition and was AWESOME. I think it added great flavor and there were these little melty chunks of cheese throughout... bonus! So, save those rinds when you have them. I am sure you will find other uses for them as well.
Also, I was thinking "ratatouille" but with a Kate twist while I made this. That was my inspiration. Just so you know.
Have a recommendation? We'd LOVE to hear it!
Salutations Readers!
Kalamazoo has good food.
Great food, in fact. We have made it our mission to check out all the local eateries one at a time - and more for our own poor memories than any other reason, we'll be chronicling our adventures in food here. And some places float our boats way more than others, which is why we have developed the very scientific five golden forks rating scale. Ok. It is not scientific at all. It is actually quite unscientific. But, it is something. And now, you can search all of our reviews by the forks rating. YAY!
But, wait! There's more!
Kalamazoo Foodies no longer just eat at restaurants then review them. There are recipes posted, some easy, some less easy, all delicious. There are, or will be, book reviews, the new Foodie Movie Review-y which will focus on movies about food or ones that have a lot of beautiful food in them. There are other food musings, and hopefully soon contests and so much more. But, Foodie Friends, it is all about food. Because we love it!
And, we want to hear from you!
We want to hear your comments on our recipes and reviews. We want to know where you love to eat. And, we are looking for GUEST bloggers to broaden our horizons a bit. And, if you haven't found us on Facebook, you should do that too. Like our page for other fun Foodies stuff like photos, polls, and more.
SO KALAMAZOO PATRONS - where do YOU love to eat? Because we'd love to check it out and share our thoughts here. Give us a comment below, and quickly! Our tummies are grumbling in anticipation.
A Note from the Foodies about our typical fair:
So, you may notice as you read our blog that we often order the same thing wherever we go. OK, maybe not quite, but we do often order similar things. Kristin has her caprese salads and mushroom dishes. Kate has her baked goat cheese and things with tofu. Well, readers, we wanted to let you know that this is absolutely intentional. A) We love those things, so why not order what you love? And, B) It is a lot easier to compare apples to apples than it is to compare apples to comquats. So, we like to order similar things to have a good sense of how to compare them. Just wanted to let you in on that little secret. Bon appetit!
Salutations Readers!
Kalamazoo has good food.
Great food, in fact. We have made it our mission to check out all the local eateries one at a time - and more for our own poor memories than any other reason, we'll be chronicling our adventures in food here. And some places float our boats way more than others, which is why we have developed the very scientific five golden forks rating scale. Ok. It is not scientific at all. It is actually quite unscientific. But, it is something. And now, you can search all of our reviews by the forks rating. YAY!
But, wait! There's more!
Kalamazoo Foodies no longer just eat at restaurants then review them. There are recipes posted, some easy, some less easy, all delicious. There are, or will be, book reviews, the new Foodie Movie Review-y which will focus on movies about food or ones that have a lot of beautiful food in them. There are other food musings, and hopefully soon contests and so much more. But, Foodie Friends, it is all about food. Because we love it!
And, we want to hear from you!
We want to hear your comments on our recipes and reviews. We want to know where you love to eat. And, we are looking for GUEST bloggers to broaden our horizons a bit. And, if you haven't found us on Facebook, you should do that too. Like our page for other fun Foodies stuff like photos, polls, and more.
SO KALAMAZOO PATRONS - where do YOU love to eat? Because we'd love to check it out and share our thoughts here. Give us a comment below, and quickly! Our tummies are grumbling in anticipation.
A Note from the Foodies about our typical fair:
So, you may notice as you read our blog that we often order the same thing wherever we go. OK, maybe not quite, but we do often order similar things. Kristin has her caprese salads and mushroom dishes. Kate has her baked goat cheese and things with tofu. Well, readers, we wanted to let you know that this is absolutely intentional. A) We love those things, so why not order what you love? And, B) It is a lot easier to compare apples to apples than it is to compare apples to comquats. So, we like to order similar things to have a good sense of how to compare them. Just wanted to let you in on that little secret. Bon appetit!
1 comment:
I make a similar skillet meal that I serve with pasta. Jeff is also not a huge fan, but I like it. :)
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