I read the diaries here of people really struggling to keep the roof over their heads and food on the table. I learned to cook from my mom and grandmother. My grandmother was a phenomenal cook and she survived the Depression and could turn anything edible into something great. So from time to time I will write her "recipes" (she really didn't have many, she just cooked by feel) here and hope that you enjoy them and find them useful. She would have liked that.
This first one is a vegetarian casserole dish that we used to have on Fridays back when Catholics didn't eat meat on Fridays. It's especially cheap in the summer when zucchini are plentiful from who ever you know gardens.
My grandmother called it tiela (tee A la). Grease a casserole dish and layer thinly sliced zucchini, thinly sliced potatoes, seeded thinly sliced tomatoes or a marinara sauce, seasoned bread crumbs and grated cheese like locatelli, parmesan or romano. Keep layering til dish is filled and end with bread crumbs and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees til potatoes are done about an hour.