Zucchini Casserole

I've got the zucchini coming out of the garden pretty steadily now, so for dinner I decided it had to be something with zucchini. This recipe sounded good, so I sort of followed it. Basically, I just layered zucchini, onion, peppers, tomato slices, and seasonings - and I added some chicken for the meat eaters in the family, hoping it would make them happy. The recipe did not say anything about covering the dish while baking, so I didn't. I really should have because, even though I baked it for an entire hour, it was not as done as I would have liked. Also, I think it needs salt and pepper sprinkled throughout the layers instead of just on top.

So, next time I'm doing it like this:

Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

• Sliced zucchini - 2 small, 1 medium, whatever you have
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced - more or less
• 1 or 2 tomatoes, sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• basil and oregano, about 1/4 tsp. each - I used several leaves of fresh basil
• Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup or so shredded Cheddar

Directions:
Grease a 2-quart casserole. Arrange zucchini slices in casserole. Top with onion slices and green pepper slices; sprinkle with salt & pepper. Top with tomato slices, then sprinkle with herbs and Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes; uncover, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and vegetables are tender. Serves 6.

Optional: Season a boneless, skinless chicken breast or two with garlic powder and oregano. Grill or broil until done - I used the George Foreman grill for 3 minutes on each side. When chicken is cooked, slice and add to casserole between the green peppers and the tomato slices.

Because this wasn't cooked as much as it should have been, it wasn't as good as I believe it will be - when I do it my way. I still enjoyed it, and my leftovers for lunch tomorrow will be better, because they'll be cooked a little more when I reheat them.