Calabacitas Casserole with Polenta and Cheese

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My dad and i made this for a school project and it turned out wonderful. It was simple, clean, and fast. I mean its nothing too special but it fits the bill. We did use one really hot pepper instead of a green pepper but it turned out fine. We really enjoyed making it together.

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I tried this out when my husband suggested something vegetarian for dinner and it's almost gone already!!! This one is great and will be a keeper!!!!!

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Living in Arizona I'm familiar with calabacitas. This version with the polenta makes it a tasty one dish meal or a great side for a barbeque. I followed another reviewer's suggestion and used a can of roasted tomatoes instead of the stewed tomatoes. The roasted tomatoes I used are with chipotle peppers which added to the flavor. No problem with a watery dish when this substitution is made and it helps the dish taste flavorful immediately, no need to wait until the next day. I also used the roasted frozen corn kernels from Trader Joe's that are "mexican style". Followed the rest of the recipe exactly and the results are delicious. Great way to effortlessly use all the zucchini that's on sale in your summer.produce section. Will surely put this one on the nightly rotation.

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As my metabolism slows I've come to appreciate fresh vegetables more, especially in Mexican cuisine. I make a similar squash stew so I recommend:
- Increasing the chile proportion slightly, one Anaheim or poblano per two or three squash. You should roast, peel and cut poblano chiles into strips ahead or cook longer (29 minutes :-. These are mild chiles, enjoy the flavor.
- BACKING OFF on the cheese, geez, please! Two cups cheese to three squash, give me a (caloric break. Substitute 1/2 cup of a strong topping cheese like cotija, romano or parmesan. Reduce salt if desired.
- Optionally parboiling or microwaving one potato, slice into 1/2" sticks and add before baking.
- Slicing the squash lengthwise and removing any watery center or seeds.
- Draining the canned tomatoes thoroughly or using fresh. A watery casserole is a bad casserole.

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Most dishes I make that are vegetarian I feel like you can tell there is something missing. This dish was not like that. Even my meat loving boyfriend loved this dish. I will be making this dish again. The only changes I made were I only used 1/2 a small squash, the whole thing seemed like way too much and I only used 1 jalepeno, and I think any type of cheese would work, I used cheddar.

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It's OK. Nothing WOW... I added ground turkey and used less cheese. Maybe it was the polenta I did not really care for. Anyway, I'm hoping it's going to get better overnight. Sorry Rachael.....

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I got this recipe from a Rachael Ray cookbook of mine. Oh this is so good. My mom is VERY PICKEY, but she LOVES this recipe. She said anything with cormeal (polenta is good. It is so easy to make. It is very filling and I love it with cheese melted on there. Try some other cheeses like, white cheddar or swiss, or 6 cheese blend. KEEPER.

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This recipe is super easy and and so full of flavor! The combination of textures is great. I made it for my family and everyone loved it!

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I'm hoping it will gel together more once it sits in the fridge, but it's just okay when it's fresh, not amazing.

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I have a couple of Rachael Ray's cookbooks and first found this recipe in one of them. I did a cross-check here before making it. Good thing I did - the book version calls for a second layer of polenta at the bottom of the dish which would have been way too much (that prepared polenta is expensive, too. I thought this was good - not great - but I'm hoping the leftovers will get better overnight. I also substituted a Mexican seasoning blend for the chili powder.