Squash Casserole and Thanksgiving Menu

It's here again - exactly one week and one day away. Thanksgiving. Are you cooking yet? Are you baking yet? (We've been sick over here in my house, so I'm not. I hope to get to it SOON.)

We have much to be thankful for, even when things don't seem to be going our way, and I'm trying hard to continue counting my blessings each day. Among so many other blessings I'm counting, this year I am thankful that all the scary stuff with my health last year turned out not be cancer or an illness we feared with a poor prognosis. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is no walk in the park, but I'm learning to live around it.

Some of our wall art for Thanksgiving last year - a painting by one of my daughters and leaves the girls made to scatter around the house.

My Thanksgiving menu this year is the same as last, with my goal once again to get as much of it prepared as I am able, and not fret if I don't get every recipe made. (Here is last year's post: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-menu.html)

Thanksgiving Menu:
-Turkey (roasted)
-Gravy (Just whisk together some of the turkey juice with some butter and sweet rice flour or brown rice flour over heat)
-Crockpot cornbread dressing (stuffing)
-Squash casserole (see below)
-Sweet potato casserole
-(Dirty rice, if I have time - another one I grew up with!)
-Broccoli with cheese
-Corn (from my brother-in-law's family farm, sauteed in butter)
-Marinated beets
-Yeast rolls
-Cranberry bread
-Cranberry sauce
-Cranberry jelly
-Fruit salad
-Pecan pie tarts
-Pumpkin pie
-Fresh whipped cream
-(And apple pie if I have time!)

This year I'm adding the recipe for squash casserole to the list (I didn't have the recipe for you last year), and I hope one day I'll have all the recipes on this menu available to you. Maybe one a year??

I'm proud to be able to share the squash casserole with you. It's a recipe from my grandmother and has been in my family for as long as I can remember. I've loved it as long as I can remember, and I love that I've passed my love for it on to my daughters. We always have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it's equally good for other meals during other times, as well. The wonderful thing about this recipe is it's very simple and even the prep is mostly just cooking it on the stove with no stirring. It's also nice because you can freeze squash from your summer garden in advance for the casserole months later. You can also prepare the entire dish a few days in advance.

Squash Casserole
(Printable Recipe)
5-6 medium yellow squash (zucchini also works), sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 medium size white onion, chopped
1/4 cup plus extra seasoned bread crumbs (I just make my own and use Italian seasoning)
Light olive oil or grapeseed oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Pinch of dried oregano

Place sliced squash in large saucepan with small amount of salted water, cover and steam until tender. Drain.

In small amount of light oil in a large pan, cook chopped onion until tender. Add seasonings and squash. Chop squash until broken. Cook until most of the water has evaporated.

*At this point you can freeze it if you want, for use later.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Add 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs and stir until combined.

Place in shallow greased baking dish (I use a glass pie pan).

*At this point you can put plastic wrap on top and refrigerate it for a few days - making this an easy dish to prepare in advance.

Sprinkle more seasoned bread crumbs on top.

Bake at 400 degrees until squash is heated through and breadcrumbs are browned - usually about 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving, everyone!