What do you do with all the zucchini ripening in your garden? That’s a good question for backyard gardeners every summer. So the editors at Home, Garden and Homestead are on a quest to find the greatest, tastiest, and easiest recipes that use those delectable green zucchini squash that keep coming and coming.

Zucchini is a popular backyard vegetable for many reasons. It’s easy to grow—even for beginners. Most insect pests (except maybe squash bugs) leave the hardy plants alone. And once the plants get into full production mode, the dark green fruits grow quickly and prolifically. That’s why you have to be ready with some go-to recipes to put all the zucchini from your garden to good use.

Here’s the first zucchini recipe in a continuing series. This hearty zucchini and pasta dinner has been a favorite in my family for years.

Italian Zucchini Pasta

Ingredients

4-5 fresh zucchini, sliced

1 can (15 ounces) stewed or diced tomatoes

1-2 fresh tomatoes, diced

1 pound, sweet Italian sausage

½ pound of pasta (penne, fusilli, or something similar)

Grated parmesan cheese (as a garnish)

What to Do

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the Italian sausage. Use a spatula to divide the crumbled sausage into bite-sized pieces as it cooks.
2. Add the can of stewed tomatoes and mix into the browned Italian sausage. Dice the fresh tomatoes and add them into the mix.
3. Slice the zucchini. (Slice the zucchini disks into halves or quarters if you want smaller bite-sized pieces.) Stir together.
4. Cover the skillet and cook on low heat to heat up the tomatoes and soften the zucchini.
5. Boil water in a medium-sized saucepan. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
6. Drain the pasta. Add pasta into the large skillet with the sausage, tomatoes and zucchini.
7. Stir and simmer until all ingredients are fully mixed together.
8. Serve on plates or shallow bowls, and garnish with parmesan cheese.

For leftovers, this dish makes a great cold pasta salad on hot summer days!

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