Italian Zucchini Bake

This recipe turns out a bit like lasagna without the pasta and with more vegetables (hence the zucchini in its name).  It would be wonderful in the middle of winter with a slab of garlic bread or even served in bread bowls.  There would be nothing wrong with it, though, simply eaten as it is, heaped in a bowl.  But because zucchini is a summer vegetable, I am posting this in the middle of July.  This is an easy and healthful way to bake up dinner.  It literally has only six ingredients, most of which you should have on hand:

A 14 oz jar of pasta sauce (I used Hunt's)
three zucchini squash
1 TBS olive oil
a clove of garlic
5-6 slices of whole wheat bread
10 oz. of shredded part skim, low moisture mozzarella


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast and then pulverize bread slices in a food processor or blender until you have fine crumbs; set aside.

Slice the squash into 1/4 inch thick pieces; heat olive oil in a large sautee pan until it runs fluidly across pan; add the zucchini slices (while stirring occasionally) over medium heat until almost tender.  At this point, mince and add garlic to pan and cook until squash is tender and garlic is golden brown.

Layer the zucchini across bottom of pan evenly.  Top the zucchini with 2/3 of the mozzarella.  Top the mozzarella with 2/3 of the bread crumbs.  Pour ALL of the pasta sauce on top of the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle your reserved bread crumbs and mozzarella on top and slide into oven (uncovered) to bake for approximately 40-50 minutes, or until your dish is no longer soupy and the mozzarella is completely melted.

Enjoy!