A Decadent, Delicious Dish
Back in the 60s, most any church covered-dish supper or family reunion featured this squash casserole. It’s really good, but not the sort of thing you’d want to eat regularly. In the interest of our health, most of us have cut back on artery-bustin’ fats.
But Southern Living still offers the original recipe, that they call Old-School Squash Casserole. It includes sour cream, butter, three kinds of cheese, creamy soup, plus mayo, and eggs! Oh, yes, there’s yellow squash in there somewhere and a Pepperidge Farm dressing mix that sandwiches it all together.
I’ve not had this casserole for decades, but with a number of squash on hand, I gave it a go last weekend. I found a recipe that sacrificed a bit of the original flavor, by omitting the eggs, mayo and cheese. Even so, it was heavenly, just as I remembered.
Spooning the squash mixture over the bottom layer of dressing. More of the bread mix goes on top.
A Squash Casserole Update
Then it occurred to me that, after all this time, there might be an even more stripped down version, with even less fat. I got in touch with my all-knowing friend, Google, and found a few updates. In the interest of bringing this classic casserole into the 21st century, I want to try some of these new versions.
I found one: Healthy Squash and Kale Casserole at the Food Network. It looked promising, so I printed it out.
Love Those Zucchini Loaves
With still extra squash filling my vegetable bins, I grated some for Zucchini Nut Bread. I tested my new cast-iron loaf pan against the traditional aluminum and found absolutely no difference, except that the cast iron was a lot heavier to lift in and out of the oven.
Waiting 10 minutes for the loaves to cool is the hardest part of the recipe.
I lessened the sugar in the recipe, which I often do these days, and the bread didn’t seem to suffer from the omission. I served one loaf and cut the other into slices and popped them into a freezer bag. They’ll be a welcome snack in the up coming weeks.
The Last of the Squash
What to do with the remaining few squash? Hmm. . . where did I put that Spiralizer, that I once felt I needed to “zoodle” zucchini into long, stringy noodles? I found it in the far reaches of a lower cabinet next to my chartreuse-colored fondue pot, that I hadn’t seen in years. But in the end, I left both of them there. They seemed to have bonded.
Instead of doing anything exotic, I sautéed the last of my zucchini with onions, garlic, and carrots and topped it off with a sprinkle of grated cheddar. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
