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It's summer vegetable time!
Need an easy, tasty, and healthy dish for all that zucchini and summer squash from your garden? (or your friend's garden? or your mom's garden? or perhaps your neighbor's garden? ...) Here's your answer!
Need an easy, tasty, and healthy dish for all that zucchini and summer squash from your garden? (or your friend's garden? or your mom's garden? or perhaps your neighbor's garden? ...) Here's your answer!
Sure, I love squash casseroles, and zucchini bread, and zucchini cookies, as much as the next gal. But I just can't eat all that butter, cheese, sour cream, and sugar for all the squash that comes my way.
So I turn to stewing my squash. It's yummy. And it's healthy. And it's easy.
My mom used to make this all time, and as a kid I didn't like it at all.
But now? Now I love it! Isn't it funny how much our tastes change over time?
I just love that this dish is really easy to make. I mean, like really really easy. It takes minimal ingredients, very little prep time, and then just about an hour on the stove top to simmer.
Once it's done, it can be enjoyed right away ... or cooled and frozen for later. Or, it reheats nicely as well. So you can make a huge pot and stick it in the refrigerator to enjoy for days.
I love it when a dish is versatile like that.
To make this simple dish, all you do is cut some zucchini and summer squash into big hunks. I like to try to keep the hunks relatively close in size and thickness, but it's not really a big deal if they're not. It'll all cook up when you simmer it, no matter what.
Cut some onion up the same way.
Then toss the squash and onions into a big pot with canned diced tomatoes and a bunch of salt and pepper.
Make sure to use a big pot! And if your pot is really full, like this:
no worries, because everything's really going to cook down together like this
There will be plenty of room in that pot in no-time.
I kind of half-cover my pot while the squash is simmering, like this:
Not sure if half-covering is necessary, but it makes me feel like the squash on the top is cooking sort of evenly as the squash on the bottom.
I also stir the mixture about every 15 minutes while it's simmering to help ensure even and complete cooking.
When everything's all tender, scoop out a big bowl and enjoy!
See? ~ Super easy. And super tasty, too.
STEWED ZUCCHINI & SUMMER SQUASH
Stewed Zucchini & Summer Squash is a super easy, tasty, and freezer-friendly way to prepare summer's squash bounty. Gobble up some now, and freeze some to enjoy all year round!
PREP TIME: 20 MCOOK TIME: 1 HOURTOTAL TIME: 1 H & 20 M
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 c. zucchini & summer squash chunks
- 1 large onion, cut vertically in chunks
- 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut zucchini and summer squash into about 1" chunks to yield approximately 8 cups (it's okay if it's not exact ... a little more, a little less is just fine).
- Put all ingredients into a large pot. Stir to combine.
- Simmer until squash and onions are tender, about an hour, stirring approximately every 15 minutes.
TRACEY'S NOTES
- My Mom's original recipe just says "salt and lots of pepper." I love it! I use 2 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of black pepper, as noted above. Adjust to your taste.
- There is absolutely no need to be precise about the measurements for this recipe. If you like more onion, go for it! Less tomatoes? No problem!
- This can be made with all zucchini or all summer squash, too.
- Freezer-friendly. It is better fresh-made, but if you've got a lot of squash you need to take care of, freezing it stewed is an option.
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