Too Much Squash!

Even though the calendar states that we are in the season of spring; snow, ice and cold rain have been dousing our area.  March came in like a lamb; beautiful warm weather, clear skies and the fruit trees blossomed.  March went out like a roaring lion with high winds, snow mixing with rain to make an icy, slushy mess.  Happily I can say, the apricot trees by my fence are still in full bloom; ok, they may have dropped a few, but they're still bursting with flowers.

Again this year I plan on creating a vegetable garden; as much as I've worked on the soil of our property, it stills fights against any attempts at growing plants.  Except for the weeds, they are everywhere and laugh as they spread; they think the weed killer spray is a cute, little shower.  I might just have to buy vegetables elsewhere if I want fresh again; sometimes I buy too much and end up freezing what I can.  Yellow squash and zucchini are perfect examples of abundant vegetables that can be purchased cheaply, if need be, and frozen for later use.

So, a day came when I was preparing a roast beef, didn't want the typical potato side with a steamed vegetable.  Seeing the frozen squash in the freezer, the load of canned whole kernel corn and creamed corn, an idea for a casserole side dish came to mind.

...and here you have, Squash and Corn Casserole.

Squash and Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

3 yellow squash, cut into ¼ inch slices

3 zucchini, cut into ¼ inch slices
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 and ½ cups minced onions
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. salt
1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
2 (15 oz.) cans creamed corn
1 Tbsp. garlic powder

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F; spray 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Create layers of yellow squash, zucchini and corn; sprinkling black pepper, salt and onions over each layer.

In a large bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup, creamed corn and garlic powder; pour over vegetables in baking dish.

 

Cover with aluminum foil for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake additional 30 minutes.  Let casserole rest for 10 minutes before servings.

 

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour