Zucchini Stew

*Special guest post from my wonderful husband.  So glad he's such a great cook!  This is one of my favorite recipes.  I particularly like it with french bread on the side, or for an even more impressive presentation, serve it in a French bread bowl.  You can find balls of French bread in the bakery/deli section of your local grocery store.  This recipe is also vegan if you leave out the chicken bouillon.  Or, if you want to add meat, chop up a few ounces of grilled chicken or turkey sausage to mix into the stew.  Eating your vegetables has never been so delicious!

I think the only reason Jayne married me was because I liked to cook.  There may have been a few other things I had going for me, but I think the main one was that I can be creative when cooking.  I don't remember the first time I made zucchini stew, but it's been a fairly regular meal for us.  It's also super easy to make, if you like to chop, which I love.  You can pretty much throw in whatever vegetables you like (I don't always do mushrooms, but we had some and they sounded good, so I threw them in).  So here it is.

Zucchini Stew

Makes 2 large servings

Ingredients:

10 oz sliced mushrooms, roughly chopped

1.5 cups (12 oz) chopped onions
3 medium zucchinis, diced (quartered lengthwise, and then cut in 1/4 inch pieces)

2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes (any variety works - roasted, Italian, etc)

1 tsp TexJoy

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp smoked chipotle flakes (optional)

2 tsp chicken bouillon (omit for vegan recipe)
4 oz grilled chicken or turkey sausage (optional)

Method:

In a hot pan, cook the mushrooms, onions, and zucchinis until tender.  Stir periodically, as needed so it doesn't burn.  

Next add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes, juice and all.

Add the seasonings, and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.  If you want it less juicy, you can simmer uncovered.  If you want more juice, just add water, a 1/4 cup at a time until you get the desired consistency.  Add meat, if desired.

Tip:  You might need to use a pot, if you don't have a big enough frying pan.

Zucchini stew without meat on the left and with turkey sausage on the right.  French bread is great for sopping up the juice!