Zucchini...the unexpected Side Dish

Don't be afraid of it, zucchini is a delicious vegetable.  There's lots of different ways to prepare it and lately this recipe seems to be my favorite.

My husband came home tonight with with steaks for dinner and I needed a quick and easy side dish to prepare.

Zucchini is inexpensive when its in season.  Go to a farmer's market mid-summer and you can find monster sized zucchinis for $0.50/each.  Non-summer, ALDI sells zucchini for $1.99 for 4-5 small zucchinis.  Oh, how I love that store!  Brief tangent ...I used to be a grocery store snob until I became a stay-at-home-mom and needed to tighten up my spending.  ALDI is awesome!  It is owned by Trader Joe's and I have saved so much money shopping there over the past year.  The produce is HALF the cost of Giant!  Once you get comfortable with the produce start trying some of their other products.  I haven't been disappointed with anything so far.

Okay, back to the zucchini.  This makes 2 servings (use your elementary math skills if you have a larger family or you're if you're serving guests)

1 1/2 small zucchinis chopped into quarter sized pieces (a little over 1 cup of zucchini)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste


Saute the onions, zucchini and seasonings in the olive oil and butter until softened.  Add cheese and its ready to serve once the cheese melts.

Its the beginnings of a great zucchini pie recipe* but that takes more time and we're sticking to quick and easy on this one.

I served this with our grilled steaks and a baked sweet potato. Does your microwave have a "baked potato" button?? Mine does and it makes perfect baked potatoes.  Sweet potatoes do not need anything added to them!!

Our steaks were coated in olive oil and Montreal Seasoning. If you don't have this steak seasoning in your pantry you're steaks are missing out on some fine flavorings.

Dinner turned out great served with a Cabernet and my husband loved the zucchini.


*Super Easy Zucchini Pie ...
1 package crescent rolls
1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 cups sliced zucchini
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
3 eggs
salt & pepper to taste

Open a package of crescent rolls and flatten with a rolling pin.  Press the dough into a pie pan. Same ingredients/instructions as above just different amounts.  Saute the onions and zucchini in a pan until softened.  Add the cheese & seasonings.  Once the cheese starts to melt, remove from heat and stir in three eggs. Place mixture in the pie pan, top with sliced tomatoes (optional).  Bake at 350' for 18 min or until the pie dough is a golden brown.  Let cool a few minutes before serving.  no longer a side dish, this time the zucchini takes center stage as the entree.