Quickie Pizza Seasoning Squash

While I was busy working at the studio for our workshop last Sunday, I asked Bo to head to the grocery store to restock our refrigerator and pantry.  I armed him with a two-columned list - complete with product descriptions and annotations - and sent him on his merry way to the commissary thinking, naively, that nothing could go awry.

What I failed to realize was that, when it comes to produce, my husband needs me to be specific...V.E.R.Y. specific.

Writing "fruits and vegetables, PLENTY" on the grocery list will result in a somewhat strange and unbalanced (I'm being kind) assortment of produce that mirrors the items found in the basket of an episode of Chopped (if you don't know what I am talking about, Google it).  If memory serves me, we ended up with:

• two sweet potatoes;
• two russet potatoes (ok...these are fine);
• one butternut squash;
• a HUGE bunch of Bok Choy;
• seven (yes, I said six...for a household of two people) ears of corn (in Bo's defense, they were on sale);
• a bunch of scallions (when we already had two at home);
• three heads of garlic (is my husband trying to tell me that he doesn't want to kiss me?);
• a bag of Fuji apples;
• two bunches of bananas;
• three pears (ok, he did pretty well on the fruit); BUT
• NO tomatoes;
• NO avocados;
• NO bell peppers;
• NO kale/chard/collard greens.

Oh, and did I forget to mention, EIGHT crooked neck squash and SIX zucchini!  Holy moly my husband must be craving squash casserole because that is a LOT of squash for two human beings (I tried feeding it to Lola, she wasn't interested.  Ok, actually, I didn't.  Regardless, I don't think she would have liked it).

So, what to do?  What to do?

That is the question.

What DO YOU do with an enormous amount of squash that will perish quickly?!

Why, you roast it of course!

And then, when you realize that you are out of Italian seasoning, you use pizza seasoning instead.  Pizza seasoning is Italian right(?!)...so it's sort of the same thing...sort of.  Most importantly, the result is delicious!

Roasted to browned and caramelized perfection, these squash and zucchini are the perfect accompaniment to your favorite grain, salad, or protein.  We ate ours with buttered barley and stewed okra and tomatoes.  Whatever you pair it with, this Quickie Pizza Seasoning Squash will perk up your plate, AND use up an overabundance of squash, a double-positive in my book!

I love that my camera was able to capture the steam rising from the vegetables in the photo above.  Looks like those beautiful half-moons were roasted to perfection.  As you can tell, they were hot out of the oven...and D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.!

Quickie Pizza Seasoning Zucchini
Serves 2-3

3-4 small crooked neck squash
2-3 small zucchini
nonstick spray
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp pizza seasoning

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Slice squash and zucchini into half-moon shapes.
• Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.
• Evenly distribute the squash and zucchini onto the baking sheet.
• Sprinkle salt, pepper, and pizza seasoning onto the vegetables.
• Toss to coat.
• Roast for 15 minutes.
• Toss/Flip.
• Roast for an additional 10-15 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Next up - a home-made recipe inspired by the Whole Foods salad bar!  I am SO excited that I was able to successfully recreate this delicious dish that I can hardly wait to share it with you.  BUT - wait, I will.  So keep checking back!  This delicious recipe is coming up next!

Question of the Day:

What do you do when you have an overabundance of produce?!  I am ALWAYS open to ideas!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo