As an East Coast girl, if you tell a West Coast friend that you’re planning to visit say California – inevitably In-N-Out Burger will become a part of the conversation, including how and what to order.

Nick and I made our first California visit together in 2019 and In-N-Out Burger made our bucket list.

Last week we made our 2nd trip to sunny California and checked off another bucket list adventure. We watched our beloved LSU Tigers play at Rose Bowl Stadium!

While the result of the game was not what we had hoped for the stadium, the energy and the excitement far outweighed our expectations.

When the game was over we made a trip to In-N-Out! This time we were armed with a plan of what to order!

At first glance the In-N-Out Burger menu is fairly limited with four food items and 10 drink options. But it’s what’s not listed on the menu that are perhaps the most sought after items.

Like ordering your burger “protein style” which means with a lettuce bun. Or the “3X3” which has three burger patties – which is precisely what we ordered.

Here’s a link to In-N-Out Burger‘s “not-so-secret menu”. What we didn’t know to order the first time around were Animal-Style Fries.

We didn’t make that mistake twice! Animal Fries are crispy French fries topped with caramelized onions, melted cheese and their special sauce. Indulgent and delicious!

This game-day appetizer is now on rotation at home! They are definitely a fan favorite. My College Cooking kids should love this one!!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Copycat Animal Style Fries

Animal Fries are crispy French fries topped with sautéed onions, melted cheese and their special sauce. Indulgent and delicious!

Course Side Dish

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the Caramelized Onion

• 1 large onion fine diced
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• salt & pepper

For the Special Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 Tablespoons ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons relish
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar

For the Fries

• 1 26 ounce bag frozen french fries
• 6 slices American cheese

Instructions

For the Caramelized Onions

• Saute fine diced onion in butter over medium-low heat until deep golden brown, about 35 – 45 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

For the Fries

• Meanwhile, oven bake french fries according to package instructions. Remove fries from oven. Top with caramelized onions and sliced American cheese. Return to oven for 3-4 minutes until cheese has melted. Serve topped with special sauce.

For the Special Sauce

• Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl.

The post How To Make Copycat Animal-Style Fries appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Welcome to this week’s edition of College Cooking! Recipes that our (over 21 aged) college kids will love to recreate and eat!

It all started with a TikTok video early this yesterday morning. Not my video. It was from ChefClub. It was one of those videos where you watch entirely too long, knowing full well it’s not going to end well. And it didn’t. But the concept stuck!

The guy in the video poured Jack Daniel’s whiskey into muffin tin cups, topped them with water and froze them.

It’s this next part that stuck.

Once frozen he popped out the whiskey ice cubes and pressed them into the center of burger patties. As he grilled the burgers on the flat top, the ice melted creating steam….which on its own is an acceptable cooking method.

I had to know.

I was the first one through the door at the liquor store – sure, it felt a little strange walking out with a bottle of JD at 9:00 am. Hey, girl on a mission!

Let’s talk Whiskey for a minute. Or is it Whisky? I kept second guessing myself on the spelling so I looked it up. Apparently the spelling of said grain spirit is entirely based on the country of origin. If it’s made in Ireland or the USA it’s Whiskey we an ‘e’. If it’s distilled in Canada, Scotland or Japan drop that ‘e’ and pour yourself a glass of Whisky!

A whiskey infused burger sounded pretty darn good, but I couldn’t get my head around infusing with water. So this is where I changed the ChefClub method and I used Coke instead. Jack Daniel’s Whiskey & Coke. A well documented finely matched pair.

The Preparation

I decided to prepare these Ultimate Jack & Coke Bacon Cheeseburgers two ways. One closely resembling the video I fell pray to. A whiskey ice cubed pressed into the raw burger patty then pan grilled.

The other, a bit more conventional but with the same flavor profile. Add the whiskey & coke directly to the ground beef, then make into patties and pan grill.

The Results

I topped our burgers with Caramelized Onions, Smoked Gouda cheese, Million Dollar Bacon, and Whiskey Mayo.

Here are the results!

Both burgers were very juicy and the toppings were perfectly matched. However, according to our highly skilled taste-testers the burgers with the Jack Daniel’s & Coke put right into the ground beef had a superior flavor profile.

So in the end, while making Jack & Coke ice cubes was fun and certainly grabbed my attention, they are not necessary.

These burgers are really good. A perfect addition to any Game Day spread!

The gentle whiskey aroma is front and center, some from the burger and some from the whiskey mayo. The caramelized onions add a wonderful layer of flavor, as does the smoky gruyere cheese. And let us not forget the million dollar bacon. Baby!

I even made a gluten free version using our new favorite sweet potato ‘buns’.

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. I’d love for you to share your feedback in the comments below!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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The Ultimate Jack & Coke Bacon Cheeseburger

According to our highly skilled taste-testers the burgers with the Jack Daniel's & Coke put right into the ground beef had a superior flavor profile and paired perfectly with the toppings.

Course Burger

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Caramelized Onions & Million Dollar Bacon 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Burgers

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 Tablespoons Jack Daniel's Whiskey can sub coke
• 2 Tablespoons Coke
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon butter for pan frying

For the Whiskey Mayo

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon Jack Daniel's Whiskey can sub coke

For the Toppings

• 4 burger buns lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup caramelized onions (1 large sweet onion) see recipe link in post
• 3 ounces smoked gruyere cheese shredded
• 4 strips Million Dollar Bacon see recipe link in post

Instructions

For the Burgers

• Combine burger ingredients (except butter) and form into 4 bun sized patties. Pan fry in butter until deeply caramelized on each side.

  Note: When pan frying or frying on a flat top grill I like to add a little water to the hot pan and cover the burgers at the end to let them steam a bit.
• Top with caramelized onion and shredded gruyere cheese. Cook to desired doneness.

To Build the Burgers

• Lightly toast the burger buns. Whisk together whiskey mayo ingredients. Slather a spoonful on bottom side of each burger bun. Top with cooked burger with onions and cheese. Finish with a slice of million dollar bacon and top bun.

The post Ultimate Jack & Coke Bacon Cheeseburgers appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

A packet of onion soup mix, a tub of sour cream, and a big bag of ruffled potato chips and we were in dip heaven.

Just think how far the dip world has come, evolved if you will.

On one hand you could say not a lot has changed. I was just texting with a friend. He shared a picture of the smoked deviled eggs he made for the big game.

SMOKED DEVILED EGGS!!!

Hello Mister! After I got done oogling the egg picture I asked what else he was serving. He shared it was the only day he was allowed to have chop dip. Chop Dip?!! I had to know….

Point being, with all the fancy dip recipes out there it’s hard to beat a good Chip Dip. This French Onion Dip takes a little longer than opening the pack of powdered onion soup mix. But if you can make the caramelized onions in advance, you can complete this recipe in mere minutes.

Two thing you need to know about making caramelized onions is it takes a TON to yield a decent cooked portion and it takes patience. I have a post on this process here.

So while I have a soft spot for Hot Party Dips (and a rather nice collection) there’s something nostalgic about a good Chip Dip!

No matter what you’re drinking or your favorite dipping vessel, you’re going to want to make this French Onion Dip for your next Game Day or family gathering!

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French Onion Dip

No matter what you're drinking or your favorite dipping vessel, you're going to want to make this French Onion Dip for your next Game Day or family gathering!

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 large sweet yellow onions small diced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste
• fresh snipped chives for garnish

Instructions

• Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and saute for 15 minutes, stirring just a couple times. Then reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until onions become a beautiful deep brown color, about 25-30 more minutes.
• Remove onions from heat, add the vinegar and stir to combine. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer onion mixture to a bowl. Add the honey, mustard, mayonnaise and sour cream. Stir to combine. Season with salt & freshly cracked pepper. Garnish with snipped fresh chives.
• Serve with favorite chips and veggie sticks.

The post French Onion Dip is a Game Day Staple appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

It’s National Sandwich Day.  Definitely couldn’t let this one get by without a proper tribute.  But I had a slight dilemma.  I am currently on grocery store restrictions aka it’s Eat Out of the Fridge/Pantry Week for us.  I have promised not to step foot into a store.  It’s killing me y’all. 

Upon discovering this sacred food holiday I began to rack my brain for what ingredients we currently had on hand.

The call in response to my first text was to say…we had exactly three slices of bread, described as a bit tired.  We also had sliced ham, even more tired.  We had precisely one egg but no sliced chicken.  None of that sounded National Sandwich Day worthy.

We did however have a beautiful hunk of roast beef that came out of the sous vide last night.  I will one day talk more about this glorious contraption that now lives on my kitchen counter.  But for now I will share that our local Sprouts Farmers Market had Beef Rump Roasts on sale for $2.99 per pound last week.  Before I was banned from the grocery store I brought one home.

We vacuum sealed it, submerged it in a 135 degree water bath and cooked it for 48 hours.  When it came out of the sous vide, we pan seared all sides, then proceeded to stand at the counter, carving off pieces, nomnom nomnom.  Thus the follow up text.  Does anyone else freeze bread?  We don’t eat much bread, unless it’s National Sandwich Day or National Grilled Cheese Month, so when I bring bread home we often freeze the leftover slices, rolls, biscuits, etc. They actually thaw quite nicely.

I apologize for the quality of the following photos, but I had no plan of sharing them until this whole French Dip Sandwich in honor of National Sandwich Day happened.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a lot of luck with rump roasts.  The sous vide method of cooking takes even the least expensive cuts of meat and turns them into mouthwatering tenderness.  So on this National Sandwich Day, we are enjoying a French Dip Sandwich.  Prepared 30 minutes ago, gone in mere minutes.  Yum!!

* The time change…changes everything for food photography.  Just a week ago it was still daylight at this time.  Daylight Savings Thyme can’t come soon enough.

** Did you know that American’s choose Turkey as their #1 sandwich ingredient.  Food for thought.

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French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients

• 4 ounces sliced roast beef
• 4 slices Havarti cheese
• 2 French sub rolls split
• 1 small onion sliced
• 2 Tbl. butter divided
• salt
• 1 cup au jus or beef consomme

Instructions

• Sauté onion in 1 Tbl. butter until golden brown, about 7-10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
• Butter sliced sub rolls and broil until lightly toasted.
• Bring au just to a boil, then remove from heat. Submerge sliced roast beef in au jus for 5 minutes.
• Layer roast beef on toasted sub rolls. Top with caramelized onions and sliced cheese.
• Serve with hot au jus for dipping.

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Here’s another favorite recipe from the archives.  Butternut Squash, Spinach & Caramelized Onion Lasagna.  Some of my favorite recipes happen when my pantry doors are bulging and I refuse to go to the grocery store.

An open box of lasagna noodles, a butternut squash waiting patiently to be called to duty, an onion, pecans, a box of frozen chopped spinach, Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Wedges, milk, flour, seasonings and parmesan cheese are all ingredients we typically have on hand.  A little creativity brings it all together.

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Butternut Squash, Spinach & Caramelized Onion Lasagna

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 341kcal

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 lasagna noodles boiled according to package instructions
• 1 small butternut squash peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick
• 1 small onion peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly cracked pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash garlic & herb seasoning
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach thawed
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

For the cream sauce…

• 1 Tbl. butter
• 1 Tbl. flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb wedges
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• sea salt
• freshly cracked pepper
• pinch cayenne

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Toss sliced butternut squash and onions in olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and Mrs. Dash. Spread in a single layer on a shallow baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped pecans for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
• Meanwhile, cook Lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Drain, run under cool water and reserve.
• Squeeze thawed spinach in paper towels to remove all liquid.

For the cream sauce…

• Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, dust in flour and stir until bubbly. Slowly whisk in milk and allow to come up to a low boil. Remove from heat. Add in Laughing Cow wedges, 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, and seasoning. Stir until well blended.

To assemble…

• Coat a 1.5 quart small baking dish with cooking spray. Cover the bottom with a little cream sauce. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, spinach, butternut squash, caramelized onion, and toasted pecans. Top with a layer of creamed sauce and a sprinkle of cheese. Repeat.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

The post Butternut Squash, Spinach & Caramelized Onion Lasagna appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

A French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich didn’t seem quite as crazy as my Spaghetti & Meatball Grilled Cheese Sandwich last week.  Boy did I catch some flack for that one from the healthy-eating police. 

So let me get this out of the way right up front…I do not encourage my readers to eat French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for every meal.  Just when you have a craving for caramelized onions, smothered with melty Gruyere cheese, sandwiched between a fresh bakery onion roll, and grilled into goodness.  And only then.

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French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Course Sandwich

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 cup caramelized onions see recipe link in post
• 4 oz. Gruyere cheese shredded
• 2 fresh bakery onion rolls
• 2 Tbl. butter softened
• beef broth for dipping

Instructions

• Prepare caramelized onions according to recipe link. Slice onion rolls and butter outsides of each. Heat skillet over medium heat. Place bottom half of each roll into skillet. Pile half of onions on each, topped with half of the cheese. Replace top halves of buns.
• Grill until bottoms are golden brown. Carefully turn over each sandwich and cook until tops are golden.
• Serve with warm beef broth for dipping.

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It’s St. Patrick’s Day!  How does one day draw in sooo many people?

Beer.

AND that we’re a melting pot society…who wants to claim to be Irish at least one day a year :)

St. Patrick’s Day seems to span across continents, dialects, and generations.  We’re looking for permission to drink.  Beer.  And make Irish Soda Bread…so we can turn it into Patty Melts on St. Paddy’s Day.  That’s my theory.  And the St. Patty’s Melt was born. 

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The St. Patty’s Melt

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 4 slices mozzarella or Swiss cheese
• 2 oz. shredded cheddar
• 8 slices Irish Soda Bread
• 4 Tbl. butter

Instructions

• Combine ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties.
• In a medium skillet, sauté onion in olive oil until nicely browned. Reserve.
• Cook patties to desired doneness, remove from heat, top with cheeese, cover and allow to rest.
• Build Patty Melt like you would a grilled cheese. Butter bread slices, layer burgers, cheese, sautéed onions, and grill both sides until golden brown.

The post The St. Patty’s Melt {not just for St. Paddy’s Day} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

When I make French Onion Soup I know my family feels loved.  That makes me happy.  A big pot of buttery caramelized onions, fresh herbs & garlic, nice rich beef stock, topped with an over-sized crouton smothered with cheese.  It’s LOVE I tell you.

To begin, make a giant pot of caramelized onions, as many as you can fit in your big dutch oven.  I know the recipe calls for 4 large onions, but if you have more in the pantry and they’ll fit in the pot, slice them up.  They will cook down quite a bit and you can always put them on your grilled cheese sandwiches tomorrow. 

I made the caramelized onions the night before and then turned them into these little pots of LOVE for lunch.  I warmed the onions then added minced garlic, fresh thyme, a bay leaf, salt & pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and red wine.  The red wine gets cooked off until it has evaporated, leaving the onions with a rich full bodied flavor.  A dusting of flour gets cooked in before adding beef stock with a final simmer.  This soup is fantastic at this point. 

However, I’m a sucker for cheese.  And a cheese topped over-sized crouton really makes me happy.  So I cut some nice thick slices of day old pumpernickel bread (which will now be my staple French Onion Soup topper) and toasted it slightly.  Filled my favorite collection of crocks with the soup, nestled a piece of toasted bread on each, then a thick slice of melty cheese like Havarti or Gruyere, and under the broiler they went.  French Onion Soup {with Pumpernickel Croutons}.  It’s LOVE I tell you.

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French Onion Soup

Course Soup

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 3 Tbl. butter
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 4 large onions sliced for caramelizing
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
• 1 cup red wine can sub white wine or omit
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbl. flour
• 1 quart beef stock
• 4 thick slices crusty bread
• 4 thick slices Havarti or Gruyere Cheese

Instructions

• In a large dutch oven over medium-low heat, add butter, olive oil, and sliced onions. Stir to coat onions in butter then allow to cook untouched for 10 minutes, until caramelizing begins. Stir well, then allow to cook for an additional 5 minutes untouched. Stir, cook another 5 minutes, onions should be turning a nice golden brown. Continue cooking, stirring every 3-4 minutes until the desired color is achieved.
• Add in minced garlic, bay leaf, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook for an additional minute, then add in wine and Worcestershire sauce. Allow to simmer gently until the wine has absorbed. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs, discard.
• Dust onion mixture with flour and cook slowly for 5-7 minutes. Then add beef broth and simmer 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to broil. Butter and toast crusty bread slices. Ladle soup into crocks, place toasted bread on top of each crock and top with a slice of cheese. Broil until lightly browned and bubbly.

The post French Onion Soup {with Pumpernickel Croutons} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Earlier in the week, we began discussing what we would cook on Super Bowl Sunday.  All the foodie websites and fb pages were alive with recipe ideas and exchanges.  The possibilities ranged from good old favorites like wings and nachos to the more exotic Salmon Wraps and Filipino Spring Rolls.  I had every intention of hosting a virtual Super Bowl Party on my fb page, even planned a week of recipes and posts centered around that theme.  But when it came time to make the announcement….we took it in a totally different direction.  Here is the Party Announcement I shared on our fb page.

Approaching a mega-Milestone {1500 Likes} we’re thinking about hosting a party!!  With the Super Event of the Year upon us, it’s only fitting that we host a …. Groundhog Day Party!!  Beginning tomorrow afternoon throughout Saturday, February 2nd aka Groundhog Day aka a Sausage Celebration we will be sharing your sausage recipes.  I recognize not everyone embraces pork fat in the same way…so if you have an adversity to ground hog, please share your favorite ‘ground meat’ recipes.  Everyone is welcome.

And what a party we had.  200+ new friends and over 30 tasty recipes shared.  I think we should make this an annual event…we’ll call it Ground Hog Day!!

Just so happens, and thanks to my friend Cindy, we had a little ground hog in our freezer patiently waiting for just such an occasion.  To be precise, Sweet Italian Wild Hog Sausage that Cindy made herself.  And it was fabulous.  We cooked mini-patties first so we could taste the sausage on it’s own.  It was sweet with the perfect balance of flavors.  I am so impressed with this lady in many ways, and even more so now.  We built a Stromboli around this star ingredient, and called it Sausage, Peppers & Caramelized Onion Stromboli {a Groundhog Day Treat}.  And while those were the key ingredients we also added mushrooms, baby kale & spinach, and cheese(s) and wrapped it in puff pastry.

Puff Pastry comes folded in thirds making Stromboli wrapping a cinch!  Unfold thawed sheets onto parchment paper.  Using a small pairing knife, cut strips into the left and right side thirds at a slight angle as shown above.  Lay filling onto the middle third, then ‘wrap’ the filling by alternately criss-crossing strips from each side.  Once wrapped, lightly brush top with beaten egg/water.

Our Sausage, Peppers & Caramelized Onion Stromboli had a great combination of flavorful ingredients and spice.  This recipe could easily be changed up by using sliced Italian meats and cheeses with roasted red peppers or loading it with shredded buffalo chicken or how about Eggplant Parmesan Stromboli.  The wheels are spinning after enjoying this delicious dish.

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Sausage, Peppers & Caramelized Onion Stromboli {a Groundhog Day Treat}

Course Appetizer, Entree

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets 2 sheets
• 2 Tbl. olive oil divided
• 1 lb. ground Italian Sausage
• 1 red or yellow sweet pepper small dice
• 2-3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 large onion sliced
• 4 oz. mushrooms sliced
• 2-3 generous handfuls of baby greens such as kale & spinach
• 1 cup grated cheese such as cheddar or Gruyere
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbl. water

Instructions

• Thaw Puff Pastry according to package instructions.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shallow baking pan with parchment paper.

To make the filling…

• In a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, add 1 Tbl. olive oil and caramelize onions, stirring only occasionally over medium-low heat, about 15 minutes. Add in sliced mushrooms and thyme and continue cooking about another 7-10 minutes until mixture is browned nicely. Set aside.
• In the meantime, add 1 Tbl. olive oil to large skillet and brown sausage, then add in diced peppers, garlic, red pepper flakes, and cayenne and continue to cook until peppers are tender. Add sausage mixture to caramelized onions and mushrooms. Return to low heat, add in the baby greens and grated cheese stirring to combine. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

To make the Stromboli…

• Unfold and lay each thawed pastry sheet on parchment paper. The sheet will be creased in thirds. With a small pairing knife cut strips into the left and right side thirds at a slight angle (as shown in recipe post picture). Lay half of the filling onto the center third, then ‘wrap’ the filling by alternately overlapping strips from either side. Repeat with second pastry and filling.
• Once wrapped, beat egg with 1 Tbl. water and lightly brush top of each Stromboli.
• Bake for 30 minutes until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.

The post Sausage, Peppers & Caramelized Onion Stromboli {a Groundhog Day Treat} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Every booth at the Farmers’ Market yesterday was bursting with tomatoes and squash, and I just can’t say no.  I even tried to buy just 3 ears of corn and the lady next to me said who does that….get a dozen, I did.  So after visiting with 10 or so farmers, I had more than I could carry or possibly eat this week.  No worries, with an office full of veggie eaters we’ll just share the love.

I love any recipe that uses these great abundant seasonal ingredients and I especially love pretty recipes.  This one is both.

I try to use similar diameter squash and tomatoes so they line up nicely :)  And love, love, love our mandolin for thin slicing veggies!!

In large skillet, caramelize onions in olive oil until golden brown.  Then add minced garlic and thyme.  Pour onion mixture in the bottom of an oiled baking dish and sprinkle with chopped basil.

Make rows of alternating zucchini, summer squash, and tomato standing them almost on end as shown in picture.  Sprinkle top with sea salt & fresh cracked pepper, Parmesan cheese, and toasted bread crumbs.  Drizzle with olive oil and bake until veggies are tender.  Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.  You can definitely make this dish ahead, just wait to add the Parmesan and bread crumbs until just before baking.  The fresh herbs really make this dish.

Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer’s year – it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul.  ~Author Unknown

The post Zucchini, Summer Squash & Tomato Gratin appeared first on Lemony Thyme.