Cheesy Squash Tian {squash bake}

Style. Everyone has their own definition of it, and with good reason. The dictionary says, “A manner of doing things.” “A distinctive appearance” and “to design or make in a particular form.” In short, our entire lives are done in style. From our food to our clothes to the way we gracefully (or in my case, gracelessly) exit our cars, life is marked through and through with our own distinctive manner of doing things. Why not create beauty in our world? …And by this, I don’t necessarily mean adhering to some arbitrary standard. I mean making things the way you love them; the way that makes your heart swell and I don’t mean in a medically undesirable way.

Cook’s Notes

• Don’t think for a minute that a tian is a fussy thing to make. It is as simple as slicing one zucchini, one squash, two onions, and stacking them in a pan. Drizzle with a bit of oil, hit with salt and pepper, slide into the oven until tender, then top with the aforementioned not-at-all-anything-to-remark-upon-in-France amount of cheese, and bake once more.
• Regarding the squash and zucchini… try to choose ones that are roughly the same size. Medium oughta do it. I go for ones that are about 8 to 10 inches long.
• Make it pretty in any way you’d like… Want to keep all the yellow in one circle and the green in another? Go for it! I advise tucking the onions in every third piece, though, so that the flavours can penetrate the whole tian.
• DO cover it in foil prior to baking for the first go-round or your pretty zucchini and squash slices will get shriveled and brown and kind of sad looking. When they’re tender, remove the foil and move onto…
• LE FROMAGE! Cheese, glorious cheese. I love to use a combination of mozzarella (for the stringy properties), Swiss (for the nutty taste), and a wee bit of Parmesan (for the bite)… Use whichever cheeses ding your chimes, but I do suggest a bit of mozzarella in there for stretch!

 

           

 

This time of year is dripping with beauty from the multicoloured leaves to the grey sky to the wild and cutting edge styles at New York Fashion Week. I’m so glad to be working with JCPenney this year as a brand ambassador because I’ve rediscovered just how well they help me find trendy pieces that fit me, my look, and my life-style. The rules – at least in my world – are that my clothes have to be cute, fit me well, make me feel attractive, be made in such a way that they’ll hold up to being the mom of five boys, and be affordable. I can’t wear something that will make me weep and clutch my pocketbook if I ruin it because as a mom and a cook my entire life is a series of stain-making opportunities.

While it is unlikely that I’ll ever find myself at New York Fashion Week, a girl has to feel good in what she’s wearing, and JCPenney helps me do that. (Blazer and tank from JCPenney). And if I DO find myself there, I’m going to tuck one of these Cheesy Squash Tians in my bag. Those models look like they need a hearty meal or two. JCPenney, however, IS at New York Fashion Week and they have the inside scoop on the inspiration and vision behind this season’s trends. Following NYFW, they will have a designated JCP Designer of the Week to give us the skinny on a few trends they’re watching for this season, and then? Then the fun starts! On Thursdays during the three weeks following NYFW, a JCPenney designer will post a #TBT-like photo asking fans to join her in posting not-so-hot pics using #JCPTrendSwap for #TBT. One lucky participant will be chosen on Friday of each week as winners of a grand Fall Fashion prize, a $500 gift card to JCPenney. In addition, they will compile a collage of the best photos based on a few key trends, and post side-by-side solutions that highlight a JCPenney item fans can purchase to bring the old trend back to life in modern fashion, today.

 Something tells me they won’t be choosing my look from high school. Much like my beloved fall, trends are -by their nature- fleeting. When I attended the immersion event at JCPenney in Plano, Texas, I loved hearing Adam Moon, Women’s Fashion Director, discuss some of the upcoming fall trends. In every trend he discussed, it was clear that JCPenney is looking to clothe EVERY woman… not just the poor little Cheesy Squash Tian starved waifs on runways. I loved the combination of structured and unstructured pieces to make you look polished while remaining comfortable.

The Giveaway

And to really kick off fall with a bang, we’re offering one lucky Foodie with Family reader a $100 JCPenney Gift Card to help them get fashionable pieces to help match the beauty of the season. Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

 

 This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 9/17/2014 -10/13/2014. Be sure to visit the JCPenney brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!