Layered Italian Dinner

I was actually planning to grill this dinner. Sometimes between checking the grill and preparing the meal the grill got taken. That’s the risk you run with a communal grill. Instead, I seared the vegetables as hot as I could in a cast iron to replicate the grilled texture and flavor. The result was good. By cutting deep into the bowl, you can make the perfect bite that mixes all the flavors of this dish together.

RECIPE:  Layered Italian Dinner
Makes 2 Servings

SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Knife
Cutting Board
Cast iron pan
Pot
Spoon
Bowl

INGREDIENTS:
2 Small Zucchini
1 Tomato
1 Hot Italian Sausage
2 oz Homemade Pasta
Balsamic Vinegar
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Chili Powder
Parsley

DIRECTIONS:
1) Begin boiling a pot of water, and cook pasta as directed.
2) Slice the tomato into slices from bottom to top. On the zucchini, chop off the ends and then slice into long sheets (about 4-6 per zucchini).
3) Toss any tomato that didn’t slice well into a cast iron pan with a hot Italian sausage.
4) Place sliced tomato and zucchini in a bowl and pour balsamic vinegar, sprinkle in garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and parsley. Stir until everything is well coated.
5) Once sausage is almost fully cooked, chop up into smaller chunks and throw back into the pan to finish.

6) In a bowl, layer pasta on the bottom, topped with sausage.
7) With the hot greasy cast iron pan, sear zucchini slices and tomatoes flipping once they are seared and cooked. The searing keeps the balsamic marinate in the vegetables.
8) Layer zucchini on top of sausage, and the tomatoes on the very top.
9) Serve with a knife and fork so you can slice through all the wonderful layers of juicy flavor. 

This meal is extremely filling and super low calorie. The amount of flavor it packs into a small bowl makes it seem like an Italian restaurant moved into your mouth.