Mama's Spicy Zucchini Casserole

Submitted by Seasoned Cook

"OUTSTANDING! My mother always knew how to season food and she was a great cook! The blend of the vegetables seasoned with chili powder makes this casserole go to the top of the scale!! You can go up or down with the amount of chili powder to suit your own spicy taste. You may like to change the spice to Italian seasoning and try that. I do it both ways."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 4-5

ingredients

• 2 -3 small zucchini
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2⁄3 cup onion, minced
• 1⁄2 cup green pepper, diced
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1⁄4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1⁄4 cups cracker crumbs (Ritz)

directions

1. Cut zucchini into 1/2 inch strips. Boil in salted water until tender. Drain.
2. Melt butter and saute onion and green pepper in a sauce pan. Add tomatoes and chili powder. Cook for 5 minutes and add zucchini.
3. Blend melted butter with cracker crumbs. Layer 1/2 of zucchini mixture, 1/2 of cracker crumbs and 1/2 of cheese.
4. Add remaining zucchini mixture, 1/2 of cheese and 1/2 of cracker crumbs.
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in a 340 degree oven.
6. Note: Yellow squash may be substituted for zucchini.

Reviews

[Lorac]

Delicious ! I made the recipe as directed. Loved this dish.

 

[nicknick119]

I rate this recipe not on the taste, but on the poor instructions given. First, it says to cut the zucchini into strips, and then combine it with other ingredients. I read this as cutting it lengthwise, but then it will not mix well with the tomatoes and onion. You need to either slice or grate the zucchini. Second, it does not say a size casserole dish. I assumed 9 by 13 since that is usually the standard size, but it would fit better in an 8 by 11.<br/><br/>Aside from that, I made several substitutions. To decrease the amount of fat and cholesterol, it halved the cheese and used oats in place of the cracker crumbs and used only one layer instead of having a layer in between. After entering it into nutrition database, this comes out as only 311 calories and 13 grams of fat, in addition to increasing the fiber. I used a red bell pepper because that was what I had on hand, and added 2 cloves of garlic. I am not very fond of chili powder, so I substituted cayenne pepper. It came out very good and much healthier than the original recipe

 

[luvcookn]

This is absolutely wonderful!! I made as directed but I did not use the green pepper... as I can't eat them. This is going on the table for Christmas as part of our veggie dinner. Thank you Seasoned Cook for posting this flavourful dish.