Summer Squash

When I was watching "Weeds" with Buddha and Kaaren Tuesday Buddha made a squash dish from a recipe his mother sent. It was very good.

Summer Squash Au Gratin

Ingredients

• 4 cups sliced yellow squash
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 35 buttery round crackers, crushed
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place squash and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in a small mount of water. Cover, and cook until squash is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well, and place in a large bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the cooked squash and onions.
4. In a small bowl, mix together eggs and milk, then add to squash mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cracker mixture, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Theory of the Dish
Summer Squash, eggs, milk, cheese. What could be simpler? Kaaren can't have anything green so Bu used yellow squash, but it would work just as well with zucchini.

Put me in mind of another summer squash recipe I like.

Cheesy Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients

• 5-8 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
• 1 egg
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• paprika
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix everything but the paprika and Parmesan. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with the paprika and Parmesan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Theory of the Dish
Pretty much the same as the previous recipe but with more cheese, less grain and a few more herbs.

Since zucchini is in season I picked up a few and made Mom's recipe for:

Sauteed Zucchini

Ingredients

• 1 med Zucchini, chopped
• 1 med onion, thinly sliced
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in frying pan
2. Add zucchini, onion, salt & pepper
3. Saute until the zucchini is soft

Theory of the Dish
This works with most vegetables. You could add garlic, and leave out the onions, or add basil and oregano if you want to get fancy. You could even sprinkle it with Parmesan if you want.