Summer squash topped with sausage and cheese -- or just cheese

This is a quick easy dish to prep ahead of time, and then assemble and cook in about 15 minutes. It evolved from a recipe for stuffed portobello mushrooms -- which is good, don't get me wrong! -- but I think I like it better on squash.

In these pictures, I was testing a batch without the sundried tomatoes, but I don't recommend skipping them. I think they add an important zing to the dish.

Recipe: Summer squash topped with sausage and cheese

 Ready In: 30 Minutes      Servings: 3

1/2 cup Jimmy Dean® Original Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles

1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend, divided

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 T. finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated

1 medium summer squash

Optional for plain squash slices:

olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine sausage, half of the shredded cheese, ricotta cheese, onions and tomatoes in medium bowl. 

Lay the squash flat on cutting board, and cut off the bottom on a diagonal.

Slice the rest of the squash, parallel to the first cut, in approximately 1/2" thick slabs. 

You'll have some large diameter slices and some small ones. If you're prepping this meal early in the day, you can put everything in the fridge now to hold till you're ready to bake.

Lay the slices on the prepared baking sheet. Divide the sausage mixture among the slices; first just dump some on (shown upper left in the photo below), then pat it down with your fingers (shown in the top second one). Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the sausage mixture.

You may top all the slices this way, or you can use the two or three smallest ones without the sausage topping. If you're not topping all the slices, brush the bare ones with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until squash is just tender. Remove from the oven. 

Sprinkle the plain slices with grated parmesan. 

Serve it all up. Yummmm!

Pizza bites - gluten free, low carb, tasty!

Earlier this week, I made myself Kalyn's Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices for lunch. Yum! But I wanted to experiment with the broiler method she suggested, since not everyone can or wants to grill. Also, I thought it would be kinda cute to make bite-sized versions.

I went with summer squash rather than zucchini. They're close cousins and nutritionally about the same, but I thought the yellow color might be more attractive to people who would be scared off by the green of zucchini. I want to set realistic expectations: no one is going to think they're eating pizza crust; the texture is completely different. But all the flavors are there, and it's a quite satisfying snack.

I made some with pizza sauce and pepperoni, and I made some with pesto and grape tomatoes. I slightly prefer the pepperoni version, because there's a little more punch to the flavor, but they're both really good. And if you or your guests are vegetarian, the tomato option is a nice alternative.

I love how they came out! They are cute, but they're also the perfect size to pop in your mouth whole. Which would also be perfect finger food, for say, super-bowl. I haven't tested the method, but if you wanted to make a large quantity for a party, I bet you could make them ahead of time, up to and including the toppings, then cover and refrigerate them till serving time, and run them under the broiler for a minute or two.

Low-carb Gluten-free Pizza Bites

I'm not listing amounts, because this is one you can totally just wing.

summer squash
olive oil
shredded mozzarella
for the pepperoni version:
    spaghetti sauce (preferably sugar-free)
    pepperoni (turkey, if you like)
for the veggie version:
    pesto
    grape tomatoes

Preheat your oven to 450. Place the rack in the center.

Slice the squash into 1/2" slices. If using tomatoes, slice them about 1/4" thick and set aside.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the squash and toss. You just want enough for all the pieces to have a thin coat of oil.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay the squash slices out on it. You can place them closer together than what I'm showing here. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove the pan and inspect the underside of the squash. It should just be a bit brown in places. Return it to the oven for a minute or two if it's not yet there.

Switch your oven setting to broil. Top the squash slices with your choice of toppings. I used the larger diameter slices for pepperoni, the smaller for tomato. I put the sauce or pesto on first, then the pepperoni or tomato, then sprinkled a small mound of cheese on top of each one.

Move the oven rack up so it's about 4" under the broiler. Return the pan to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and done to your preference of golden-brown-ness. This will probably be somewhere around 3 to 5 minutes, but watch it closely.

Let them cool somewhat before serving; that tomato sauce will be hot!

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