summer squash series {2- summer vegetable tian}

Summers in ENC are spent eating fresh veggies from everyone's garden.  I feel like we will never have to have a garden because of the things that we get from our family and friends.  Squash is a staple at our house in the summer.  There are a million ways to cook squash.  Over the next few days, I will share a few ways we have cooked squash.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1 medium zucchini

1 medium yellow squash

1 medium potato

1 medium tomato

1 tsp dried thyme

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Italian cheese.

Instructions

-  Preheat oven to 400.  Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).
-  While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
-  Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
-  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

summer squash series {1- squash bake}

Summers in ENC are spent eating fresh veggies from everyone's garden.  I feel like we will never have to have a garden because of the things that we get from our family and friends.  Squash is a staple at our house in the summer.  There are a million ways to cook it.  Over the next few days, I will share a few of our favorite ways.

Squash Bake

This is a twist on something similar to a dish Ryan ate when he was younger.  I am sure it not exactly like his Mom and Grandma use to make it.  He loves it though so I keep cooking it.

Ingredients
At least 4 medium squash
1 medium onion sliced
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions
-  Throw sliced squash in a baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
-  Top squash with a layer of sliced onion.
-  Pour the stewed tomatoes over the squash and onions.  I like to run my stewed tomatoes through the food processor or blender to break up the really big tomatoes.  
-  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
-  Cover and bake on 350 for 30 minutes.
-  Uncover and bake or broil until cheese is bubbly.

Sweet Baby Ray's Crock-Pot Chicken

This has easily become one of the girls favorite chicken dinners.

It is so easy and I feel like we always have this stuff without having to run to the grocery store.

I found the recipe on Pinterest but thought I would put it here so I don't lose it.

Sweet Baby Ray's Crock-Pot Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions
1.  Mix everything but the chicken.
2.  Place chicken in the crock-pot.  **I actually sprinkle my chicken with salt and pepper then quickly sear it on both sides before putting it in the crock-pot.
3.  Pour sauce mixture over chicken.
4.  Cook on low 4-6 hours.