Ratatouille recipe

So I made this delicious vegetable dish over Easter (and hundreds of other times because it's so darn good), and it was a hit. My aunt actually requested it specifically, because I made it last year and it was so popular. It's also extremely easy and cheap. Ratatouille is a French summer vegetable dish. It's traditionally any kind of stewed, seasoned vegetable dish. There are several ways to make it. Here's my favorite way. Feeds 4. 

• 1-2 zucchini
• 1-2 yellow squash
• 1-2 red bell pepper, preferably a long, thin one. 
• about a cup of your favorite tomato sauce (I like it saucy, so add a little more if you want)
• salt and pepper

Depending on the size of your veggies, you may need more or less. You want them to be snug in the dish, but you still want a little wiggle room or they won't steam properly.

Slice all the veggies thinly. Spread the tomato sauce on the bottom of a pie dish so that it covers the whole bottom. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the sauce. Line the sliced vegetables in the dish, like the picture above. Salt and pepper liberally. Drizzle with olive oil, cover with foil, and bake at 375 F for 20-30 minutes or until veggies are cooked soft. 

You can add any vegetable to this dish, as long as you can slice it. Carrots, any kind of squash, or other peppers add great flavor. The recipe doubles easily; just add more veggies and put in a 9x13 pan!

Serve hot with pasta and parmesan, or as a side dish to chicken or fish. This dish can be really fun for kids to make, too! Just give them little ramekins and let them stack their own veggies! They're much more likely to eat the food if they made it themselves.

It's awesome the first day, but it's unbelievable on the second day. The tomato sauce soaks into the veggies and the dish just multiplies in flavor.