Squash Tian - My Favorite Recipe of this Summer

We love summer squash. It's inexpensive and plentiful and keeps well in the refrigerator until I get around to using it. We used to grow it ourselves. Now we just go to the farmer's market on Saturday morning or to our local Sprouts store and stock up for the week.

I originally saw this recipe for Summer Vegetable Tian on Pinterest. It came from a blog called Budget Bytes. Follow the link to see her original recipe. The first time I made it, I followed her recipe exactly and it was very good. Since then I've made a couple of changes. Basically, I use a lot more squash without increasing the amount of potatoes and onion.

Here is my recipe for Squash Tian:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic
3 medium zucchinis
3 medium yellow squash
1 baking potato
1 large tomato
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese (Parmesan, mozzarella, or Italian blend)

Preheat oven to 400.

Use a skillet with olive oil to saute the onion over medium-high heat. Add the garlic after the onion begins to soften.

Thinly slice the zucchini, squash, potato, and tomato.

Spray a 9"x12" casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the casserole dish. Then arrange the thinly-sliced vegetables standing up in the dish, alternating the squash, potatoes, and tomatoes in a random pattern. Sprinkle with thyme and salt and pepper. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and discard foil. Sprinkle with cheese and return, uncovered, to the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese begins to brown.

I've been making this at least once a week since squash came into season. Adding the extra squash makes it stretch enough to be a side dish for dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day. Grandad hasn't complained about having it too often. I like it well enough that I will just eat it by itself for lunch the next day.

I've been trying to cook enough extra of everything to send a meal to my mother-in-law at least two or three times a week. She's doing better, but she's not up and around yet. She's gets around the house with a walker. The therapist, who visits three times a week is working on getting her to use a cane now, but she doesn't leave the house except for doctor visits.

What are you cooking this summer? 

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