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Welcome, $5 Dinner readers! Although you’ve stumbled across the perfect summer dish, I’ve noticed zucchini often on sale and (better yet) in reduced produce this time of year, too! Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to check out my Recipes tab for many other frugal, crowd-pleasing meals.’
Is everyone still drowning in zucchini out there? If you’re looking for a low-carb (no-carb?), filled with veggies, use-up-your-zucchini meal that fills tummies and pleases tastebuds, you’re at the right post. This may well be our favorite summer meal, and I love it because it’s so healthy and easy to make. I also have some great memories of my two-year-old son slicing zucchini with his cheese slicer that looks like a meat cleaver. (See this post for a photo!) Buddy Boy completely did the zucchini job himself two years ago. …If only I could get him to help me in the kitchen like that now! (“Mom, can I go outside and play with my friends?”)
You’ll want to find a tasty sausage for this recipe, and use a spaghetti sauce that you know your family likes. Those two ingredients are the star players and change the flavor dramatically. We used some good pastured pork sausage this summer, but in the past I have used cheap ground turkey and made it into sausage like this.
Sausage Zucchini Bake
1 pound sausage, mild or spicy ($1-$3)
1 chopped onion ($0.30)
1 chopped green pepper ($0.33-$1)
1-3 cloves garlic, crushed ($0.20)
1-2 large zucchini, sliced (free-$0.60)
1 jar spaghetti sauce ($1)
1 Tbs fresh basil, chopped (a few cents)
1-2 Roma tomatoes, sliced (free-$0.75)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ($1.50)
Parmesan cheese
Super Foods: 4, 5 if you use turkey
Cost: $5-8
Brown sausage. Saute onion, pepper and garlic (add last) with the meat
(in olive oil? See this post for research!).
Pour a little spaghetti sauce in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Layer 1-2 large sliced zucchinis on top.
*Note: If you want to make sure the zucchini gets soft, you can optionally parboil it for a few minutes before layering in the pan. I skip that step because I hate making more dishes!
Mix the remaining spaghetti sauce in a large bowl with the sauteed meat and veggies and the fresh basil.
Pour overtop the zucchini.
Layer sliced tomatoes (they don’t have to be Romas, but those are prettier) on top, then cover with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15-30 minutes longer, until the cheese is browned and the sides are bubbling. Since I’m learning so much about the dangers of aluminum, I chose to tent the aluminum foil so it didn’t really touch the cheese, like so:
Next time I’m going to try a cookie sheet upside down over the baking dish.
I used so many slices of zucchini this time that it was really watery, so I don’t have a pretty picture of one piece of the meal on a plate. But believe me, the taste was still there! If yours seems too juicy, don’t despair. Just eat and enjoy!
Challenge yourself to get as many ingredients as you can from your Farmer’s Market or your garden! Just another reason to love this dish.
Find the ultimate list of zucchini recipes at The Finer Things in Life.
It was a tough choice, but I chose this as my Favorite Recipe for Life as MOM’s Ultimate Recipe Swap today. There are so many good ones!
I’m pleased to link up with:
- Zucchini In-Season Recipe Swap at at Tammy’s Recipes,
- Food Roots at Nourishing Days
- Healthy Helpings at the Krazy Kitchen
- This week’s Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
- Friday Feasts at MomTrends
- Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
- Ann Kroeker’s Food on Fridays
- Share my Recipe Sunday at Organize with Sandy
- Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale
- Make it from Scratch Carnival
- Progressive Dinner: Main Dish at Stolen Moments
I’d love to see more of you! Sign up for an email subscription or grab my reader feed.
If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Other Great Summer Recipes:
- Jamaican Meat Marinade
- Summer Fruit Dips
- Homemade Guacamole
- California Chicken Wraps
- Pasta Salad Variations: Traditional, Pizza, Spicy Red Pepper and Greek
- Sausage, Beans and Kale Soup
Hungry for more? Related posts:
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Looks yummy! Just a casual question . . . if you use a cookie sheet over the top, would condensation form and end up dripping out in your oven? Probably wouldn’t make near the mess I’m imagining, though. And I’m looking forward to learning how to clean my oven by your standards! (Especially since I can’t get it to lock to self clean, and who wants to use those awful chemicals?!?)
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Katie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I wonder? I don’t know if there would be any more of a problem than with my casserole dishes that actually HAVE lids. I suppose you’re thinking on the overhanging part that might hit the bottom of the oven, but water shouldn’t make a mess or a stink if it does drip. I’ll have to find out next time I get the ol’ oven on!
You’re the second or third person to mention the oven cleaning, so although I was going to put that off until January, perhaps I’ll get it in at the end of this month!
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looks great to me!
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The amount of carbs will depend on what sauce you use. Most spaghetti sauces have loads of sugar. Be careful.
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Katie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Good call. Best option, of course, would be to make your own with local tomatoes. We can’t all get away with that, though! Thanks for pointing out a good label-reading warning.
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I found you through The Krazy Kitchen.
Love Zucchini (I usually saute mine, first), and this sausage zucchini bake will be just right for my family too. Thanks.
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What a wonderful and economical meal. Can’t wait to try it. I hope you are having a wonderful day.
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What a great idea. I too, have many zucchini to use and be creative with.
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Looks great! Will have to try when I am the lucky recipient of friends’ zucchini largesse!
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Food on Fridays: Blueberry Coffee Cake « // Aug 14, 2009 at 3:05 pm
[...] Stewardship (Sausage Zucchini Bake–many ingredients from Farmers’ [...]
That looks attractive, healthy and creative. Oh, and delicious!
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I love zucchini in all it’s forms. Thanks for this recipe. I love the combination of sausage and zucchini.
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great recipe for my moms favorite vegie
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Yum, that looks so great. I just came in from the garden and I am probably a few weeks away from having enough zucchini from the garden to make this. But, I will bookmark the recipe for sure. Who knows, maybe I will buy some zucchini at the farmers market and make this sooner!
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Thanks for sharing. We’re sharing peanut butter ideas and Elvis stories at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. I hope you will come join us. Or, join us for Crock Pot Wednesdays. Mister Linky will be ready for that on Tuesday.
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I just made this for my family tonight, and they loved it. Even my 18 mos. old, who’s currently going through a picky phase, inhaled it. This is definitely a winner!
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Wow! That sounds delicious!!! YUMMY!
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Another great zucchini recipe! Thanks! DH picked 9 more today.
~Liz
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My Finds Online » 15 Unique Zucchini Recipes // Aug 20, 2009 at 10:05 am
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake – Oh My! Definitely not figure friendly,it’s loaded with a pound of sausage, spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese. Looks heavenly. [...]
Wow! Look at all the posts for this recipe. I just assembled mine with zucchini from the market … I’m sure it will be wonderful!
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Wow! That looks divine! Can’t wait for summer to come around again so I can have yummy fresh zucchini.
Vanderbilt Wife´s last blog ..Bloggy Progressive DInner: Entrees to Entertain WIth
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I loved seeing the various stages as this dish came together- looks just lovely! And anything with all that melted cheese on top ranks high on my list.
JessieLeigh´s last blog ..Introducing Cereal!
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Looks delish! I will have to try it. I have a recipe that layers Zucchini, ham and cheese, along with some salt and Italian spices and optional tomato and onion. I love it, so I’m excited to try this one as well. My zucchini plants have just begun producing!
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Just stopping by from Tasty Tuesday. This looks like a great recipe. Always looking for something to use the zucchini I grow in my garden on. I might have to give this a try.
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Saturday Link Love: Edition 4 // Jul 17, 2010 at 5:03 am
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake [...]
This was really tasty but I was disappointed at how it “fell apart”. I set it up like a lasagna but didn’t scoop out of the pan very well. We will make this again but next time I’ll add noodles to thicken it up
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Great Zucchini and Squash Recipes « Simple Organized Living // Aug 20, 2010 at 10:14 pm
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake — Kitchen Stewardship [...]