Recipe: Summer Squash Casserole

Frankly, in growing up, I never liked summer squash as the Yankees call it or yellow squash, the Southern name. Now that I’ve been a damn Yankee about three times longer than I lived in Tennessee and Mississippi, I have learned to enjoy yellow and gray squash as well as zucchini. A quick, attractive and tasty side dish includes the various squash, onions, tomatoes and maybe eggplant and red peppers sautéed with lots of garlic in olive oil. Zucchini squash, by the way, makes excellent bread.
One summer my mother insisted on making a yellow squash casserole that I had to admit was delicious. I could have sworn that I had written about that recipe in one of my cooking columns years ago but I couldn’t find it.
My friend Bobbi, or Barbara as most folks call her, phoned that she had some grapefruits for me. One of her sons had brought up produce from South Jersey, not realizing that she couldn’t have grapefruit because of her medications.
I always like to visit Bobbi because I know we will have lots of laughs. That was certainly true and she surprised me with yellow squash in the bag with the grapefruits. When I returned home I searched my cooking columns and then went through some of the recipe cards I inherited from Granny (my mother).

Searching to no avail, I turned to the Internet. On Allrecipes.com I found a recipe for a squash casserole. The results, even warmed over, were delicious. Here’s my version.
Yellow Squash Casserole

• 2 cups sliced yellow squash
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 18 Ritz crackers, finely crushed
• ½ cup sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 tablespoons (3 oz.) milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.>br>Put squash and onions in a saucepan with water to cover. Cook about five minutes or until squash is tender. Drain and place in a large bowl.
In another bowl, mix cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the squash and onions.
In a small bowl mix eggs and milk and then add to squash mixture. Stir in melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
Grease a casserole dish and spread in the squash mixture.
Sprinkle with the remaining cracker mixture. Dot with one tablespoon butter.
Bake in 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until casserole is lightly browned and cooked through.

Makes about four servings.
Sidna Brower Mitchell can be reached via e-mail at sbmcooks@aol.com.

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Jack Lawton