First made this ridiculously simply casserole back in the early '70s when we were growing zucchini in the backyard - before we realized how prolific those plants are! I haven't made this in many years, though, so I don't recall the temp the oven should be, but those of you who cook often will know what to do. :-)

You'll need a pound (to a pound-and-a-half or so) of ground beef; spaghetti sauce, mozzarella or provolone cheese, and zucchini.

Cook the meat and drain off any grease. Mix the meat with the spaghetti sauce. In a casserole dish, put a layer of the meat/sauce mixture. Then a layer of zucchini slices, then a layer of sliced (or grated if you prefer) cheese. Another layer of meat/sauce, another layer of zucchini slices, and another layer of cheese.

Heat in the oven for 20-30 minutes until everything is heated through. Serve with warm bread.

I wrote this on another thread a while back, it's not a classic casserole, but it's easy, quick, and very good. It's my Mom's Italian Zucchini Stew...

An onion - chopped

Zucchini and/or yellow squash - large bite sized diced

Potatoes - large bite sized diced

A few cloves of garlic crushed whole, chopped roughly

Enough tomato sauce or tomatoes to give it the consistency of stew

Heat some olive oil in a pot, toss in the garlic to flavor the oil.
Before the garlic burns, toss in the tomatoes and/or sauce. Add onions.
Let simmer to meld flavors.

Toss in potatoes. Wait until they are softening some, then toss in Zucchini. cook until soft.

*** and a few deviations from the Mom... Tonight, as it was finishing, I added cannellini beans and Italian green beans.

Please don't ask amounts... it's totally up to you. Besides, Mom just says... "some this, some that...". And don't tell Mom about the beans!

Lindsey, sounds like lasagne almost. Do you slice the zucchini the long way?

(Oddly, my zucchini is bad this year, failing to mature properly.)

No, the way we've always made it is with the round zucchini slices. But I don't think it would matter if you used lengthwise slices.

Not unusual and not a casserole, but my daughter's fav is Fried Zucchini, and it works best with big zucchini. You slice it into 1/4-3/8" rounds, then dip it in batter, like a fritter or tempura batter, and fry in a mixture of olive oil and canola oil. Drain on paper towels, salt lightly, and serve warm or at room temp. I rarely fry anything, so this is a big treat at our house.

If it's a really big zucchini, it's good to hollow the seeds out - like a canoe - and stuff with rice/ground meat/onion, top with tomato sauce and bake. Like a stuffed pepper. Can also do this with eggplant.

My father used to make fried zucchini for us when we were kids (my parents died in 1970, so this was a long time ago!). He would slice it into rounds, as Ginny described, but then he'd dip it into a bowl in which he had scrambled an egg, then into bread crumbs (I don't know if he used Panko brand crumbs), then fried the slices in olive oil. We always ate them warm, and I liked to sprinkle salt on mine.

I love it when restaurants have fried zucchini on the menu! (Usually as an appetizer.)