Roasted Summer Squash Pasta

This is another simple summer time recipe.  Summer squash is all over the farmers' markets and I love to roast my veggies.  I used my toaster oven to roast the squash.  This roasted summer squash pasta dish is great served warm, at room temperature, or cold.  I love how the mozzarella melts when you eat it warm though.  The basil gives a great fresh taste.  I've already had this dish for dinner last night and the leftovers for lunch today.  Enjoy!  

P.S.  I have a sick doggie (Ellie) this week so I probably won't have as much time to cook.  Poor Ellie is on medicine and a special food diet for a few days.  Also I have some upcoming trips so I'll be out of town for fun and for work soon!  Happy Summer!

 

Roasted Summer Squash Pasta

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

½ pound rotini pasta (about half a box)

1 yellow squash (straight or crookneck)

4 slices fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

basil leaves, chopped (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain well.

Slice squash into thin half circles.   

Line a baking sheet with foil.   Place squash on baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat evenly.

Roast squash for about 20 to 25 minutes.  Turn squash slices halfway through roasting.

 

In a large bowl, add squash to pasta.   Stir in sliced mozzarella.   Top with fresh basil leaves.  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.   

 

Serve warm or cold.

Caprese Salad Pizza

I love caprese salads, especially in the summer time.  I threw this pizza together with ingredients I already had on hand and it came out perfect.  I wanted to use up the rest of my salad mix so you could make this pizza without the "salad" part if you want.  I also wanted to mix up the fresh mozzarella with the shredded mozzarella, it made the pizza extra cheesy and that wasn't bad at all :)  I absolutely love the taste of grape tomatoes from the farmers market, the ones at the grocery store do not taste the same at all.  The tomatoes from the farmers market are sweet and fresh, while the ones from the store taste bland.   If only I had a yard so I can have a garden!  That's the downside of city living, so I'll just have to rely on the farmers market for now.  

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Caprese Salad Pizza

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 batch homemade pizza dough, recipe here

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup grape tomatoes, halved

½ pound fresh bocconcini mozzarella, halved

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

½ cup salad mix

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

salt

freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll out dough and press down onto a greased baking sheet. 

 

Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on pizza dough.  Spread minced garlic on top of pizza dough.

 

Bake for 5 minutes so garlic is lightly roasted.

Remove pizza from oven and top with grape tomatoes and mozzarella cheeses.

 

Bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes until edges of dough are crisp and cheese is melted

Top with basil and salad mix.

 

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Best served immediately.

Serves 2 to 4.

Baked Yellow Squash with Tomato

Summer time means an abundance of fresh squash in gardens!  I got some yellow straightneck squash from my friend's garden and I adapted this recipe from The Kitchn's Baked Summer Squash recipe.  You could use whatever summer squash you have, such as:   zucchini, pattypan squash (white squash), or yellow squash (crookneck and/or straight).  I added tomatoes to my baked yellow squash just because I had some and I like fresh tomatoes.  This baked yellow squash recipe with tomato is wonderful with the crisp bread crumb topping.  This dish is fresh tasting and a great summer time side dish.  Enjoy!

   
Baked Yellow Squash with Tomato

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 pounds yellow squash, sliced (I used 3 small squashes.)

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup bread crumbs (I used ¼ panko and ¼ italian bread crumbs.)

½ cup parmesan cheese

3 small tomatoes, sliced (optional)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup chopped fresh basil (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Remove stem ends of squash and slice in ¼ inch thick rounds.  Toss with olive oil.

Slice tomatoes and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

Arrange half the squash rounds in bottom of baking dish.   Layer tomato slices over squash.  Sprinkle with half the bread crumb mixture.

Arrange remaining squash rounds on top and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture.

Cover baking dish with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove foil and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until top bread crumb layer is lightly browned.

Top with chopped fresh basil and serve.

Serves 6.

Tomato Pie

I have never made a tomato pie before but I have had one once and it was delicious.  I came across Paula Deen's tomato pie recipe from her food network show, Paula's Home Cooking.  I altered her recipe using what I had at home.  I would probably use shredded mozzarella cheese next time instead of the fresh bocconcini mozzarella, because it made the pie more watery.  You should make sure you drain the tomatoes really well too.  Paula's recipe also said to remove the skin from the tomatoes, but I just left them on since I don't mind it.  You could also caramelize the onions if you have time to do that.  I love the combination flavors of tomatoes and basil and each bite of pie was cheesy.  At first I was skeptical, but then I ate a second piece of pie!   Yup, it was that good.  Enjoy!

Tomato Pie

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) prebaked pie shell (I used a frozen pie shell.)

4 tomatoes, sliced

½ onion, diced

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped  (8 to 10 leaves)

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

½ pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (I used 2 bocconcini mozzarella balls.)

¾ cup mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise.)

salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  I prebaked a frozen pie shell for 9 minutes.  (Follow directions on the package.)

Place tomato slices in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with some salt.  Allow liquids to drain for about 10 minutes.

 

In a small bowl, combine the shredded cheese and mayonnaise together.

 

Layer the tomatoes slices, onion, and basil in the prebaked pie shell.  Layer the mozzarella slices between the tomato layers.

Spread mayonnaise mixture on top of the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with some black pepper and salt if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

Best serve warm and cut into slices.  

 The pie got more watery due to the fresh mozzarella cheese ... oops, but it still tasted good!

 My second slice of pie ... as you can see, I used the same plate from my first slice :)