Sauteed Zucchini, Sweet Red Peppers and Onions

For many of you with summer vegetable gardens,  neighbors who grow veggies, or a farmers' market just up the road, it's zucchini time. Yeah, I know you can buy zucchini year round at the supermercado, but really, let's be honest: those out of season veggies travel thousands of miles to get to your market and compared to an in-season, just picked zuke, they're as boring as Kevin Costner's voice in Peggy Sue Got Married: "I love you, Sue."

Of course, as the summer zucchini season wears on, people avoid each other if we suspect they are going to offer us (more) zucchini because we have run out of ideas for cooking it. What to do with bags of giant squashes that look like those pods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Well, there's always zucchini bread, and I saw this awesome recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Brownies I will have to try.

But I'm talking about early-in-the-season zucchini, around 6 inches long. I sauteed some of these fresh zukes with red bell peppers and onions and they worked nicely as a side dish to the grilled steak, sauteed mushrooms,  baked potato, and sliced yellow tomatoes I served for dinner last night. Yum.

 

Here's the recipe:

Sauteed Zucchini, Sweet Red Peppers and Onions (4 Servings)

Ingredients

3-4 medium zucchini, each around 6 inches long, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 small sweet onion, sliced
1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
2 T olive oil
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t seasoned salt (I like Goya Adobo salt, found at well stocked markets in the Mexican food section but any kind will be just fine)
1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Optional additions: Half a minced fresh jalapeno pepper added with the other veggies, or a chopped tomato added just at the end of your cooking time, heated just enough to warm the tomato through.

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and swirl it around to cover the pan.
2. When the olive oil looks shimmery, add the zucchini, onion and bell pepper. Season with the garlic powder, seasoned salt and pepper.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes. Some of your onions and zucchini will get brown and that's good. Don't overcook because you want the veggies tender but not mushy.

And that's as easy as it gets. If there are leftovers, save them to scramble with your eggs the next morning!