Summer Vegetable Casserole

June 22, 2014 by Jackie Garvin 26 Comments

We had our grandchildren for most of last week while their parents were out-of-town. Jackson had been sick and was still on medication and not completely well when he came to us. The second day in, Ella gets sick. They are so pitiful when they’re sick. Just as I did with my sick children, I devoted 100% of my attention to them. Nothing else got done and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be. Taking care of a sick child is sacred. That’s when they’re the most vulnerable and needy. I believe children draw a lot of their impressions about life according to how they’re care for, or not cared for, when they’re sick.

A lot of our plans for the week were foiled because the kids got sick but our time with them was critically important. Sometimes the best results don’t come out of rosy and fun situations. The special time that we shared with our grandchildren as we nursed them through sickness builds on the foundation of our relationship. They’re still young so we have lots of time to do fun things with them. I hope this week let them know that they can always depend on us. Life isn’t always a blackberry cobbler. Sometimes it’s nothing more than a whopping dose of antibiotics.

Y’all come see us!

Summer Vegetable Casserole

Ordinarily, I like to connect my narrative to the recipe that I’m sharing in the article. Every angle I came up with for this article just seemed corny or cliché. My grandkids were sick and I wanted to write about that. We love this casserole and I haven’t shared it on the blog. There is no connection between those two events. This casserole is a great take-along. It’s good at room temperature or served warm. Okay, I could make a connection between paying attention to the temperature of the casserole and taking the temperature of my sick grandchildren, but I will spare you. Plum tomatoes work best because of their low water content. Other varieties may be used but the cook time will need to be increased. For cheese, use any kind you like that has good flavor and melts well. I’ve used aged cheddar, Asiago and Jarlsberg.

2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons bacon grease

6 medium summer (yellow) squash, sliced thinly in rounds

4 to 5 medium zucchini, sliced thinly in rounds

8 plum tomatoes, sliced thinly

salt for sprinkling

ground black pepper for sprinkling

dried thyme for sprinkling

1 pound of flavorful good melting cheese, shredded (cheddar, Jarlsberg, etc.)

Melt bacon grease in a large cast iron skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Spread onions evenly in the bottom of a greased 11×13 casserole dish.

Add half the zucchini rounds and lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme.

Repeat with squash and then tomatoes, seasoning each layer.

Add half the shredded cheese on top of the tomatoes.

Repeat the layering and seasoning with zucchini, squash and tomatoes. Add remaining cheese to the top of the casserole.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Summer Vegetable Casserole. Layers of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cheese, herbs and spices. #tomato #squash #zucchini #casserole #southern

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