Garden Vegetable Casserole

Every year I make a solemn promise to myself that the next year I will not plant an excessive number of zucchini plants. Then, the very next year, I plant an absolutely silly number of plants for two people. Our son and his girlfriend don’t eat zucchini and trying to give them away in this rural area is like trying to sell sand at the beach. I’ve gotten pretty creative with how to use all the zucchini I produce and, since I also grow tomatoes and potatoes, my Garden Vegetable Casserole is a great way to enjoy our fresh from the garden goodies.

I was supposed to be taking it easy because of my fall but I just couldn’t resist using the fresh vegetables I gathered from the garden. Gathering the vegetables was also on my “you’re not allowed to do it” list but…

The first thing I need to do is a little prep work. I slice a medium onion, a medium zucchini, a large potato, and a couple of my Roma tomatoes all about 1/4 inch thick. I was excited to use my mandolin which my friend, Peg brought me when she came to dinner last week. It makes the prep work go really fast!

I cook the onions over a medium heat in about a tablespoon of butter until they are slightly caramelized. To help them caramelize I sprinkle a little salt on them as the cook.

I butter the casserole dish and lay the onions in a layer on the bottom.

Then I spread a layer of potatoes and lightly season them with salt and pepper.

Next a layer of the sliced zucchini is placed on top of the potatoes. I add a pinch of oregano on top of the zucchini layer. I’m also really proud that I grew and dried the oregano myself!

The top layer is the sliced tomatoes which are also seasoned with salt and pepper.

Covering the casserole dish with foil, I bake it at 400F for about 40 minutes.

I mix melted butter with Italian panko breadcrumbs and, when the 40 minutes is up, I spread the breadcrumbs over the entire dish.

I return the casserole dish to the oven and turn the heat up to 500F and bake the casserole an additional 5 – 10 minutes or until the bread crumbs are browned.

Chock full of vegetables this casserole is a great way to enjoy the best my summer garden has to offer!

Garden Vegetable Casserole

Ingredients:

1 medium to large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 – 3 plum tomatoes, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
2 Russet potatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter, divided
Salt and pepper
Pinch of oregano
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.
Slice the vegetables, keeping the potatoes in water until ready to use.
Cook the onion slices in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, until translucent.
Butter the casserole dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Layer onions in bottom of casserole dish.
Layer potatoes on top of onions and lightly season with salt and pepper.
Layer zucchini over potatoes and season with a pinch of oregano.
Layer the tomatoes over zucchini, lightly seasoning tomatoes with salt and pepper.
Cover with foil and bake at 400F for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons of melted butter with 1/2 cup Italian panko breadcrumbs.
After 40 minutes of baking, remove foil, sprinkle breadcrumbs over casserole and return to oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until breadcrumbs and browned.

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