Sautéed Zucchini, Squash, Onion, & Grape Tomatoes

Sautéed Zucchini, Squash, Onion, & Grape Tomatoes

The other day I was driving down RT 50 aka Saratoga Rd when I spotted an outdoor market.I could not help but think that soon all these roadside stands would be closed as fall and winter headed our way.
With that though in mind I pulled in to buy possibly the last of the local summer vegetables.
Among other things I picked up zucchini, yellow squash, and a couple pints of grape tomatoes (two pints because this is one of my favorite snacks)
When I got home I checked my recipe books and the internet for an inspiration that would highlight my fresh vegetables and make them the star of the meal
Here is what I came up with with some of my own creative tweaks to what I found:

Sautéed Zucchini, Squash, Onion, & Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2  small red onion, diced
1  zucchini 
1 yellow squash
1/2  pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 
2 cloves garlic, minced (or two teaspoons of garlic in the jar)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup of Italian salad dressing.
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, plus more for garnish if desired


Instructions:
1. I cut up the vegetables then toss them with the Italian dressing and let them marinate for an hour or longer. 

2.  When I am ready I heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan.
3.   Add the red onions and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft and pale purple in color, 7-8 minutes. Do not brown.
4. Add the zucchini, squash, tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes, or until the zucchini and squash  are cooked but still crisp and the tomatoes have started to burst, creating a little sauce.
5.  Stir in the fresh basil, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
6.  Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh basil if desired.

I have also found that if you want to add chicken that you will want to marinate, cook, and chop the chicken before adding to this meal.
A good short cut is to use the Tyson already cooked chicken and chop it up and marinate along with the vegetables.
This is a wonderful summer meal and with Fall at our door starting tomorrow it would be a good time to give this a try.