The garden has already gotten overwhelming.  It's mostly the weeding and general scope of it right now.  I also have my little raised bed at my house that are doing so well... so much better than I really expected.

Today I saw several large, green tomatoes on the vine and I know it's only a matter of time before they are ready, but until then, we have squash. 

I always think that I know what I will do with things until I have a ton of them and then I can never remember.  That's what happened a while back, and I didn't have a whole lot in the house to work with so I made up my own simple, gratin-style recipe that is pretty diet friendly.

What I started with:

squash... some yellow some zucchini, chopped into large chunks

herbs... I used some tarragon and oregano with salt and pepper

spaghetti sauce... I make my own from last years' canned tomatoes(recipe to follow)

ground meat... I used beef

parmesan cheese

I sauteed the squash in some oil (I used a lard/butter combo 'cause that was all I had... olive oil would be good) along with the herbs you choose.  Don't cook it to death, and leave it a bit firm and still bright.  I didn't put the lid on the pan as I didn't want to overcook it.

Mean while brown your ground meat and add the spaghetti sauce to it.  I actually added too much sauce in this one, and it is a little too gooey, but it still tastes good. 

Put the meat with sauce in a casserole dish.  Cover with the squash and top with parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  The cheese should be golden.

Serve with additional parmesan cheese on top.  I was running out so it is really skimpy.  Serve with a salad, some bread and a glass of wine.  If dieting have water and salad while dreaming of bread and wine.....