I ran into a neighbor at the grocery store last week and she told me to go check out the sale produce in the back of the store next to the seafood. Amazing. That day I came home with about 10 bell pepper of various colors for $2.99. That’s what the regular price is for each one. I got the whole bag! Two days ago I picked up a bag of russet potatoes (I’d guess 10 pounds) for $1.99 and a bag of mixed bell peppers and zucchini for $2.99. We are in produce heaven. Tonight I made a zucchini dish of my own invention.

After you scoop out a lot of the flesh, lay the zucchinis in a greased 11×7″ baking dish and place pieces of mozzarella on top.
Cover with sauce.
Sprinkle croutons over the top.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes. You may need to place a foil tent over the top at about 45 minutes if it gets too brown. YUMMY!

Zucchini Parmesan Bake

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

7 apx. 7″ long zucchini squash

1 jar favorite marinara-type pasta sauce (I like Safeway Arrabiata-very spicy)

8 oz. mozzarella (I like fresh, but the other should be fine)

1 6oz. package seasoned croutons

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Fry the Italian sausage in a medium pan until no longer pink. While it is cooking, cut the ends off zucchini and scoop out the soft seed part. Zucchini becomes quite watery while cooking and you want to remove a lot of the interior flesh. Chop the scooped out parts and add to the cooked sausage. Saute a little longer. Add pasta sauce to the Italian sausage mixture and let simmer for an hour, uncovered.

To assemble the dish, lay out the zucchini shells in a greased 11×7″ pan. Cut the mozzarella into pieces and lay the pieces into the zucchini shells. Cover everything with sauce. Sprinkle croutons across the top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Place a foil tent lightly over the top at about 45 minutes if it starts getting too brown. Remove from heat when you see it bubbling. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

If you want to make your own sauce and your own croutons, by all means do so. Tonight I used what I had on hand. It was quick and easy. The croutons worked very well to absorb the water created by the cooking zucchini.