Friday, August 24, 2012

Summer Squash Casserole

    
       Our yellow summer squash plants have slowly stopped producing.  Back in the beginning of the summer, I had to give lots of squash away because I couldn't keep up with its production.  Now that I am not getting as much squash I am kind of longing for those days of when it was taking up half of my fridge space.
       Most kids don't like vegetables.  I know I didn't go out of my way to eat them.  My mom made a squash recipe from her childhood for me that I loved.  I didn't even mind that I was eating vegetables.  It was just that good.   I have used the same "make vegetables tasty" approach in my family.  Here is my oldest child's favorite recipe that I make with yellow summer squash.  It is a take-off of my mom's because you bake it as a casserole, where hers was a stuffed squash. 
       You can adjust the ingredients for the amount of squash you have.  Alas, I just had two. (Sigh)

Ingredients
  1. 8 oz. of quartered yellow squash
  2. 1 small onion chopped
  3. 6 oz of feta cheese
  4. 1/2 cup of milk
  5. 2 eggs
  6. 1 Tbl of chopped dill
  7. 1 tsp of salt
  8. 1/4 tsp of pepper
  9. 1 cup of breadcrumbs (panko or home made
  10. 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbl of olive oil
  11. 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Pre-heat your oven to 375F
Cut your squash in quarters and place in a microwave safe bowl.  Add enough water to fill the bottom and microwave for 8-10 minutes depending on how much squash you used.  Mine were fine after 9 minutes.  You want the squash soft.

Saute your onions in a pan with 1 Tbl of oil and cook them until they are translucent.
Then when the squash is done place the onion in the bowl with the squash. (Don't forget to drain the water from the bowl first.) Add your feta, milk, dill, salt, and pepper.
Now with your stick blender or with a food processor, puree those ingredients to your liking.  You can leave some chunks.  In my family, smooth is preferred.  (It's the hide the vegetable thing.) You can now taste for seasoning adjustments if you so desire.

After add your eggs and mix them in.
Then add half of your bread crumbs.
Place the squash in a greased 8x8 baking dish.
Top the casserole with the parmesan cheese.

Then take your  remaining bread crumbs and mix it with the 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Top the casserole with the bread crumbs.

Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.  You will see it bubble. Take off the foil for the last 5 minutes of cooking so the topping gets crispy.

I have served this as a main dish, and it is definitely a great side dish.  You can also substitute cheddar cheese for feta if you don't have feta on hand.


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