Recipe Box - Favorite Squash Casserole

Those of you who garden know how it is: what starts out as one or two small, innocent-looking squash plants turns into a monstrous squash-producing machine that spits out several new squash per day, it seems.  Being determined to not waste food, you eagerly set to the task of eating all that squash; but after a few days go by, you're scratching your head, trying to think of another way to fix it because, frankly, you're tired of the same old way of eating it.  Before too much more time goes by, you realize that you will not be able to eat all the squash your plants are producing, so you begin to look for friends and neighbors to whom you can give the excess.  If no other squash producers have gotten to them first, they might be genuinely happy to receive your surplus at first; but before long, your squash is piling up in their refrigerator, and the next time you see them and inquire as to whether they could use some more squash, they quickly reply with a "oh, no thanks, we really don't need any more right now."  If you're persuasive, you might be able to turn their "no thanks" into a "well, I guess we could use a few more," as their voices trail off weakly and they look away, hoping to avoid any future contact with you until squash season is over!  ;-)

If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, here is the answer to all your problems!  Or, at the very least, a new way to consume a few more of those abundant squash.  :)  

This is my absolute favorite squash casserole recipe; and, as I told someone recently, "you can hardly taste the squash in it!"  "Most good squash recipes are that way," he said dryly.  Hmmm, guess he wasn't much of a squash fan.  :)

This comes from my favorite cookbook, Esther Shank's Mennonite Country-Style Recipes & Kitchen Secrets; and she calls it "Baked Zucchini Squash."  I simply call it "Favorite Squash Casserole."  And on a personal note, years ago, I made a note in the margin beside this recipe; it says, "Donna says this is good!"  I'm grateful that I made that note because I love remembering that my sister was the first to recommend this recipe to me.

Here's what you need:

6 cups raw, cubed zucchini squash (although good ol' yellow squash would work fine, too)
1/2 cup chopped onions
7 oz. package seasoned stuffing (reserve half)
1 10-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated carrots
1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter

Here's what you do:

Cook squash and onions in a small amount of water for 5 minutes, then drain.  Meanwhile, pour half the stuffing into a greased 2-quart casserole dish.  Next, combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, grated carrots, and salt; then mix with squash.  Pour that mixture on the stuffing in the casserole dish.  Mix remaining stuffing with melted butter, then sprinkle over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until done.
Yield: 6-8 servings

I made this for our supper last evening and enjoyed it so much that I finished off the rest of it for lunch today. Right now I wish I had more of it.  It's a good thing I still have some squash in the refrigerator.  ;-)