Sautéed Zucchini

I’m back!  This week was pretty nuts, but I think that I’m finally getting back into the swing of things.  It’d be nice to have things running smoothly, unlike this morning when Fritz and I realized that we had literally no food in the house that was appropriate for a quick school lunch.  Tomorrow I have the morning off, so I’ll be sure to make some things we can pack quickly.

We also ran out of old-fashioned oats and steel-cut oats in the same week–a travesty!  Luckily, my mom can read my thoughts from 6 1/2 hours away (with no traffic, that is), and told me today that she mailed me three pounds o’ oats in a box today.

What a woman.

I was thinking today that I have been lax in posting side dishes, probably because it’s just more exciting to write about and photograph entrées, and because I also have an affinity for one-pot meals.  However, we do eat a lot of side dishes, especially since I’ve tried to add more vegetables to our diet lately.  Here’s a nice one for ya:

Sautéed Zucchini (courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 or 3 zucchini (or summer squash), cut in half lengthwise and sliced crosswise
• 1 small onion (I used half a giant onion), diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 T dried parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then toss in the onions and cook until translucent, a few minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the ends off of each zucchini, and slice-‘n’-dice.  Add those into the skillet.  After a few minutes (around eight), they will be tender and beginning to brown.  Make a well in the center and add the garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper, then toss all together.

Enjoy!  I’ve been using jarred garlic in olive oil because I hate having to peel and mince garlic, but when the taste is fairly important (such as this recipe), you can taste a weird, almost chemically aftertaste which is not the best.  However, on the bright side, Fritz never notices when I use garlic anymore.  Mission “Sneak Food Fritz Hates Into Everything He Eats Until He’s Immune” accomplished!

We ate this as a side to baked tilapia with a mustard (me) and chutney (Fritz) bread crumbs topping smothered with roasted tomatoes.  Yum.  So easy and a great way to make frozen fish taste good in a quick and healthy way.  I’ll post the recipe next time I make it!

I rarely eat zucchini (because I’ll almost always choose summer squash over it–I love yellow!) but I enjoyed having a different vegetable in the mix.  Days when I’m good about eating healthily and exercising just make me feel so amazing…and then I can enjoy some guilt-free relaxing time with Henry and Sleepless in Seattle (good recommendation, Mom)!