Taking Advantage of Summer Veggies Part 1

I've never really been a veggie person, aside from my corn, green beans and potatoes (apparently potatoes are botanically considered a veggie, but nutritionally they are considered a starch.) But since being introduced to Pinterest, I've really expanded my horizons with veggies and I feel quite proud of myself. I have really learned to like brussel sprouts, asparagus, cabbage, yellow squash, zucchini...... just to name a few off the top of my head. My husband has always liked these veggies so he's in heaven that they are making an appearance more often at the dinner table. My kids are like the 3 Bears - I have one that likes to try all the veggies, one that is picky about which one she tries and one that one that won't try any at all.

I want to share with you a few recipes I've made lately that were a hit (with most of us!) and makes good use of all those summer veggies you either grow yourself, get at the farmers market or the grocery store. First up, Vegetable Tian that I found over at Just A Pinch. Wait until you see the beautiful colors of the veggies baked with fresh shredded Parmesan!

So go ahead and gather your potatoes (I used 3 of the 4 small-medium sized shown here), tomatoes (2 medium sized), onion, zucchini and yellow squash. The recipe also calls for Thyme but I'm not a fan, so I used Rosemary, salt & pepper. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F).

Slice up all your veggies, chop your onion!

Next, in a pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil or butter, sautee your onion and 1 tsp minced garlic. I'm not a big fan of onion, but realize it's necessary sometimes so I use it according to my liking. The recipe calls for one whole medium onion so use what you prefer.

Decide what dish you are going to use. The recipe says to spray with cooking oil an 8x8 dish.I started off with that and realized it was going to be too big. I then switched to a loaf pan and it was too small. I finally settled on my 9" pie plate which was just right.  For some reason the 3 Bears keep popping up in this post! ;) Spread your onions & garlic on the bottom of your dish.

 

Next, start taking one of each veggie, and layer in a stack and put in the dish, and repeat until your dish is full. If you have extra veggies, just tuck them here and there to fill in the dish.

 

Doesn't that look pretty? Next, generously - and I stress generously - sprinkle your salt, pepper and Rosemary on top of your veggies. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and add fresh grated Parmesan cheese and bake another 15 minutes or so until the cheese is melted.

 

 And then you have a wonderful Vegetable Tian! I made mine with the intentions of it being a side dish, but my husband said it would be just fine as a main dish. It was pretty filling.

Some wonderful veggie goodness!

 Catch the full recipe here at Just A Pinch.

Stay tuned for some more veggie goodness with Part 2!

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