Eating While Broke : Marinated and Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash

With spring just around the corner, many of us will begin our gardening for this year.  In today's economy growing your own vegetables is a great way to save money, and you don't need a lot of room or property to grow a few things that will save you a bit of cash in the kitchen.  Here and here are two useful posts my mom did recently that can give you some ideas on gardening, even if you may only have a small area to do so in.

With that being said I have quite a lot of recipes I will be sharing in the "Eating While Broke" series using veggies that we grow here at our home.  Of course, the squash I used to make the following recipe was store-bought, but it really made me long for the summer months ahead to hurry up and get here so I can have my homegrown vegetables once more.

This recipe came from Giada De Laurentis of "Everyday Italian" on the Food Network.  This stuff was great!  A little tangy but very refreshing and light.  Plus, it was easy to make, and I had everything on hand.  I did, however, use bottled lemon juice rather than fresh (I'm sure the fresh would be even tastier) and dried thyme as opposed to the fresh (once again, I'm sure fresh might be better).  Those were the only changes I made.  This recipe, I think, will be especially good on a hot summer day fixed outside on the grill.

Marinated and Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 zucchini
• 3 yellow squash

Directions:

1. Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and thyme in a large bowl.
2. Season with salt and pepper and gradually whisk in the olive oil.
3. Slice all the squash diagonally into 1/4" thick slices.
4. Spoon 3 Tbsp of the marinade into a small bowl, cover and set aside.
5. Add all the squash to the remaining marinade in the large bowl and toss to coat.
6. Transfer the mixture to a 13x9 glass baking dish, cover and marinate at room temperature for at least 3 hours.  (Can also be refrigerated for up to one day to marinate.)
7. Season squash with additional salt and pepper (if desired) and grill on the BBQ or on an indoor grill pan until they are crisp tender and brown, turning occasionally for about 8 minutes.
8. Transfery squash to a serving platter and drizzle with the reserved 3 Tbsp of marinade.
9. Serve hot or at room temperature.

You can see additional posts in the 2009 "Eating While Broke" series by clicking the following links:

Crockpot Beef Stifado

"Eating While Broke" is now a Gather group! Come join!

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Bourbon Chicken

Ingredient Substitutions

Spicy Kielbasa Soup

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder

Open-Faced Beef Sandwiches

Spinach Frittata

Mexican Rice

Rice Pudding

Meatloaf

Scalloped Potatoes

Recipes from 2008 can be found at the following links:

Lasagna

Chicken BBQ Pizza, Salad, and Dessert

Enchiladas