There are some meals that need a hearty and more complex side dish. When you’re serving a simple main dish like steak, chops or fried chicken that doesn’t have a lot of other ingredients, it’s nice to have something a little more exciting to compliment it. So often with simple meat main dishes, I reach for potatoes as a side, but with my loaded zucchini sauté, you get the flavors of a loaded baker but without the carbs that many of us are trying to avoid. You can add “toppings” as you like. This flavorful side dish is practically guilt free. And for more zucchini recipes, check out my all zucchini cookbook, “The Zucchini Houdini.”
Belle’s Loaded Zucchini Sauté
- 2 slices bacon
- 2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Sliced green onions, chopped tomatoes, sour cream and other toppings (as desired)
Cook the bacon until crisp and then drain and crumble coarsely. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pan. Add the zucchini, basil, salt and pepper and cook until the squash are tender. Sprinkle with the cheeses and heat until melted. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and whatever other toppings you desire.
Brenda Stanley is the mother of five children, including two sets of twins and a grandmother of seven. She is a cookbook author and novelist. For more recipes and information, visit her website www.brendastanleybooks.com.