Easiest Zucchini Bake

Ahhh summertime.  No school, more free time, right?

Riiiight.  Not for the adults in the house.  While I love having my sweet boy around, there is less time in the day for things like cooking.  And with weather like we’ve been having: mid 80’s, mild humidity, enough rain to keep everything growing… who wants to spend a bunch of time cooking?  But there is fresh produce coming out of the garden, including zucchini for the first time in a few years.  I just love walking in the house with the IDEA of making dinner from the garden…. but I don’t want to spend a lot of time doing it.

A friend brought a dish to a recent gathering that was simply sliced yellow squash baked with a little seasoning and a touch of goat cheese sprinkled on top.  It was delicious.  So simple.  This got me thinking about layering squash and baking it.  So simple.

Open the refrigerator and see what you’ve got.

I layered sliced zucchini with some sliced tofurky sausage (if you use meat sausage you probably should cook it first, both to make sure it cooks sufficiently and to get rid of some of the grease).

Hmmm.   Although I want it simple I felt that wasn’t enough.  It was looking lasagna like but without the ‘gna’.

A peek in the pantry revealed some herbed lentil crackers.  GF for hubby, tasty for the rest of us = ‘gna’.

I’m sorry, I should put this in the usual recipe form…. but it’s going to be kind of short 😉

Easiest Zucchini ‘Gna’

2 zucchini – sliced
1 package tofurky Italian sausage (14 oz.)
about 1/3 box crackers
oil for baking dish (used coconut oil)
I recommend sprinkling 1 tsp each of oregano & thyme if not using seasoned sausage
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350
Oil covered baking dish
Place layer of zucchini (a couple of slices thick) on the bottom and alternately layer other items until done

(This photo is mid-layering…. I had another layer of all 3 ingredients and some zucchini on top.)
Bake, covered, for about 20 minutes or until tender.  Again if using meat – make sure it is cooked to the appropriate temp!

I served with roasted potatoes because I love keeping roasted colored potatoes around.  They make a great alternate snack when my son is hankering for potato chips or french fries.  Please ignore the amount of salt on the plate.  (Yikes!)

This was a big hit.  I’m going to try it with other items as well next time.  Couldn’t beat it for easy!

Any suggestions for other easy additions to the bake?