I was not quite sure what to call this recipe. It was surprisingly tasty, there were a few extra steps, but it was not difficult to make at all. It was also tough to photograph..Dang, some foods are just hard to take a photograph of, especially when you are new to using a camera! Originally, this was to be a Vegetarian Dish, but I realized there was leftover roast chicken that needed using up, so in it went. You could easily poach a chicken breast if you did not have leftover cooked chicken. Or omit for a lovely Vegetarian side dish. It was also nice to have a dish that did not have any starch for a change. Note: Because of the fresh tomatoes and zucchini, when this dish was done, there was a lot of liquid in the casserole dish. What I did was slice out one serving, then with a spoon, I scooped out any extra liquid. This was really tasty the next day too.
Olive oil
1 medium/large yellow and green zucchini
1 large onion diced
8-10 roughly chopped crimini mushrooms
3 Tblsp. Balsamic vinegar
4 fairly large tomatoes - sliced
1 tsp. each of ground fennel and Italian Seasonings
1 cup left over shredded chicken
Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Yogurt Cheese
3 minced garlic cloves
3 big Tblsp. diced fresh basil and Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
1 tblsp. minced fresh rosemary
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Heat up a frying pan on medium heat, with a good drizzle of olive oil. Saute the mushrooms until golden, then add in the chopped onions, sauteing to sweat out. Meanwhile, cut the ends off of the zucchini, cut in half, then thinly slice about 1/8th of an inch thick, and slice the tomatoes. Once the onions have sweat out, add in the shredded chicken, tossing to warm through, then the Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, stir to combine and remove from the heat and set aside.
Mix the Yogurt Cheese with the garlic, herbs, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Lightly oil a casserole dish and lay down a layer of zucchini slices, then a layer of tomatoes, sprinkling some chicken onion mixture on top, followed by a good sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Then add another layer of zucchini, tomatoes, and spread on the Yogurt cheese mixture with a spatula. Another layer of zucchini, tomatoes, finishing with the chicken mushroom mixture. Mix the dried fennel and Italian seasonings together sprinkling evenly on top of the dish. Season again with salt and pepper.
Add another good sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, cover with tin foil, and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until the zucchini is cooked, but still somewhat firm. Served with a salad, this was a tasty, hearty meal.