Zucchini Bake

Anyone else grow up thinking zucchini was created for the express purpose of being made into bread? My mom always made zucchini bread when I was little, and it's true! I thought for many years that the only thing you could do with zucchini was grate it up and put it in bread. THEN I learned it had a second purpose. CAKE! Mom gave me a recipe to make chocolate cake squares with zucchini, and I was so excited to finally have a second option for this green zucchini thing.

Leave it to me think a vegetable was only suitable for making dessert items. {You're starting to see more and more why I needed this clean eating change, aren't you?}

I actually found this recipe in some of the 21 Day Fix recipes I was given along the way, I tweaked it just a bit to fit what we have here in our house, and it has quickly become one of our favorite side dishes. {I even served it - with much nervousness - on Mother's Day, and the family cleaned that dish out entirely.} One of the things I love most about it is that it IS quick. It assembles quickly and bakes quickly. It has good flavor and it's good for you. Win, win, win!

Some of you have asked for this recipe, so here it is! {And for those of you who asked for the sweet potato chip/fry recipe, I'll get that to you soon!}

Zucchini Bake

* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 4 large zucchini cut into spears or cut into "chip" circles
* 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Wash and cut zucchini and place it in a 9x13 baking dish. {If cutting the zucchini into spears, put it in the dish skin side down.} Brush olive oil evenly over the pieces. Combine the cheese with all the herbs and spices and sprinkle over the dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Serve warm.

A Few Tips:

* Zucchini, at least here in Indiana, goes through phases of growth. When it's not in season, I tend to find smaller ones that are more the size of a large pickle. When I get them that size, I cut them into spears and pretend they're fries when I eat them. When they are in season, they tend to be HUGE - sometimes more like the size of an eggplant. That's when I switch to cutting them into the circles, just so they bake faster. It all tastes the same.

* Make sure you stir up your cheese/herb/spice mixture really well or you'll get a big bite of just one on some piece. That can be shocking - especially if it's garlic!

* This does warm over decently well, so if you make too much to eat on the first serving, it can work as a leftover.

* I like to make this to serve with dishes that would pair well with fries. The night I made it to take the pictures, I served it alongside turkey burgers. I've also paired it with sloppy joes. But it also works nicely with chicken or any other meat that needs a veggie beside it.

* Zucchini itself is fairly flavorless {in my opinion} but the blend you sprinkle over it really does give it good flavor. No boring dish here!

Happy eating good-for-you food and using zucchini for purposes other than bread and cake! :)