‘Tis the season for… An abundance of squash!
This time of year I always end up with more squash than I know what to do with, and we don’t even have a garden! But when my ground-tilling friends have a surplus of crops, I’m not one to refuse free, fresh produce!
Enter the ground beef and zucchini casserole. I love it because it’s easy. My kids love it because it’s cheesy. I call that a win-win! 😉
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
2 small zucchini, sliced
6 mushrooms, scrubbed and sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
1 (4-oz.) can mild diced green chiles, undrained
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
Preheat the oven to 350°. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain.
Add zucchini, mushrooms, and onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender (about 5-7 minutes).
Mix in the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, rice, chiles, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
And dinner is served! My toddlers can be pretty fussy when it comes to eating squash, but the seasoning in this zucchini casserole hid some of the squash-y flavor and they didn’t make a peep about it.