I love squash and enjoyed growing it in my garden for years. For now, because I’m working away from my garden, I get mine at the local farmers’ market (locations in New Orleans).
This recipe is inspired by one of my and my son’s heroes, Sidna Brower Mitchell, who is well known as a great cook and food writer but perhaps even more importantly as the unjustly maligned student editor of The Daily Mississippian on the Ole Miss campus when it was forceably integrated in 1961.
My recipe is an adaptation of hers, with a few extra ingredients. It’s great in the summer when the produce is bountiful. It’s also an easy veggie side dish throughout the year.
EQUIPMENT INGREDIENTS LET’S GET STARTED Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and slice/cut the vegetables as specified. In a large saucepan or a Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium-high, then add onions, bell peppers and squash. Saute until tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the Ritz crackers into the Ziploc bag and smash them or use your fingers to squeeze them into cracker crumbs. Then, pour the cracker crumbs into a large bowl and add the cheese and green onions. When veggies are tender, add half the cracker/cheese mixture into the saucepan with them. In small bowl, lightly beat eggs and add the cream/milk. Add this to squash mixture, then pour in melted butter. Combine everything. In buttered or vegetable oil-sprayed casserole dish, spread the squash mixture evenly. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the cracker mixture. (Optional – dot top with 1 tablespoon butter.) Do not cover. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 minutes, then boost heat to 400 and cook another 10-15 minutes until veggies are cooked through and cheese-cracker crust is golden. SERVE: Delicious side dish with any of your favorites like fried or grilled chicken, steaks etc. Serves about 6.Yellow Squash Casserole
Sidna Brower Mitchell can be reached via email at sbmcooks@aol.com. Thanks, Sidna, for it all!
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This work by Patsy R. Brumfield is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Header image is by flickr user Mike Mozart and used via a Creative Commons license.