This is the confession of an epic fail moment, and of back up plans that end up being total wins. Let me set this up for you. The hubby and I took the girls for a drive in search of a farmer’s market last weekend and stumbled across a tomato farm with a produce stand. Acting like kids in a candy store, we got a little carried away with our vegetable purchases, and with crazy dreams of canning vegetables, and pickling some. By we, I really mean me, and when I say crazy dreams, I am not kidding. I bought all kinds of jars and gizmos, read way more articles than I care to divulge, and watched a bunch of videos. I was set, this was going to be so much fun! Ummmmhhhh…. no!!! 3-quart jars of roasted tomatoes later, I have officially abandoned the plan. That was way too much drama for 3 jars and I have mad respect for you avid canners. Plan B is now in play, and I am about to cook as many as I can in the next few days, and freeze a whole lotta them for later. All this to say, I had tomatoes and squash to use up, and that plan B involved a recipe that used both these babies.
Some days you are blown away by the simplest things. When unassuming vegetables meet with olive oil and a hint of thyme, and magic happens. I made vegetable gratin 2 nights ago, and it will be making a repeat performance tonight. I all but begged the girls to hate veggies just for a night, but they were not feeling my vibes. I was really tempted to over-complicate the recipe, but in the end, simplicity won.
This is definitely not a quick recipe, but it is worth the time to roast the veggies for an hour. The act of roasting vegetables amplifies the flavor for sure. If you do not have a cast iron pan that can carry over from stove to oven, you can transfer the onion mix to a casserole dish and layer your vegetables there. You can also use different vegetables such as eggplant or zucchini. I just used potato, squash, and tomato since it’s what I had on hand.
Happy eating!!!
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 5 small potatoes, cut into thin rings
- 3 yellow squash, cut into thin rings
- 4-5 Roma tomatoes, cut into thin rings
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat oven safe skillet over medium heat, and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions start to soften. Add garlic and stir for a minute or so.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of thyme.
- If you do not have an oven safe skillet, transfer mixture to a baking dish. Spread the onion evenly on bottom of the pan, then layer potatoes, tomatoes, and squash in alternating order.
- Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt,1/2 teaspoon thyme, and black pepper.
- Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove the foil, sprinkle the parmesan cheese and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy
Weekly reflection:
I drive my younger daughter and my best friend’s son to school every morning. My favorite part of our routine is the scripture memory time with them. They learn a new verse on Monday, and we hammer it in the rest of the week. This week we rehearsed a verse they learned last school year, and it is one that I hope they can remember for the rest of their lives. The thing that draws me to this verse is the reminder that we have an example to follow, even when it is so hard to forgive and to be kind. Christ set the example for how we do it, by forgiving and tenderly loving us first.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Mary
lol! am smiling…am so guilty of those trips to farmers market and my very lofty dreams of what magical dishes I’ll cook….
Love the Vegetable Gratin! looks so exotic…will give it a try.
Kari
IKR!!! Farmers market is for dreams 😂😂. I’d love for you to try it out and let me know what you think.