Move over, Paula Deen

Our neighbor, Miriam, gave us a bag of summer squash this week, and I couldn't think of anything better to make with it than Squash Casserole.  My favorite recipe has always been Paula Deen's recipe from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. It's a simple recipe, but this time I put my own spin on it, and it turned out delicious. Here's how I made it:

First I assembled all of the ingredients.

I chopped the squash and onions, and I cooked them together.

The original recipe calls for cooked squash and separately cooked onion, but I always cook the squash with the Vidalia onion, as it gives the squash better flavor.  While those were cooking, my helper, Danny, crushed up some Ritz crackers.

This is where my casserole varies from the Deen recipe, as I used Bacon Ritz

to give it an awesome smoky flavor. Danny then mixed all of the ingredients together,

topped it with Ritz crumbs and cheese,

and we baked it until it became bubbly and browned on top.

I've included the full amended recipe below:

SQUASH CASSEROLE

 

 

Ingredients:

 

3 cups yellow squash, cut into rounds

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped

1 tablespoon butter, plus 4 tablespoons, melted

1 cup Ritz bacon flavored cracker crumbs, plus more for topping

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of onion powder

 

Sautee squash and onion together in 1 tablespoon butter until pan sizzles. Add 1/2 cup water and cover, cooking until squash is tender. Pour into a strainer, and then squeeze all of the water out using a towel. Place the squash/onions into a bowl with the 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup cracker crumbs, 1 cup of cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle remaining crumbs and cheese on the top, and bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.