Squash Casserole with Sour Cream and Stuffing Mix

 

Squash Casserole

Personal Photo

 

There are many squash casserole recipes out there similar to this one.  Most of them call for a can of cream soup, such as cream of mushroom, cream of celery, or cream of chicken, as well as either sour cream or mayonnaise.  Some call for stuffing mix, while others use crushed Ritz crackers.  This one is similar to what my Aunt Totsie used to make. 

 

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs yellow squash

1 medium sweet onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 grated carrot

8 oz sour cream

1 c grated cheddar cheese

1 small pkg Pepperidge Farm dressing mix

½ stick butter

Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

1- Scrub squash, cut off ends, and cut into chunks. 

2- Peel and dice onion. 

3- Add squash and onion to a pan.  Cover with water and cook at a low boil until tender. 

4- Drain and mash squash and onion. 

 

Squash and onions

Personal Photo

 

 

5- Add remaining ingredients except butter and ½ pkg of dressing mix. 

 

 

 

Personal Photos

 

6- Pour into greased casserole dish.  Top with remaining dressing mix.  Cut butter into small cubes and distribute over the top. 

7- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 



Finished and out of the oven

Personal Photo 

My Turkish-Inspired Spinach Entrée

Here is another one of my Turkish-inspired dinner favorites, Yumurtali Ispanak.  It has chopped spinach, ground beef, seasoned salt, and cheese.  The Turks make it with ground lamb, and crack eggs over the top, but I usually skip the eggs.  (I don’t like the texture of egg whites.)  This entrée is super easy and quick to make.  It’s one of my favorite ways to eat cooked spinach, and the one I make most often.  (I also like Indian Saag Paneer.)

 

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef or ground lamb

2 bags frozen chopped spinach, about 1 lb each

Lawry’s seasoned salt

5-6 eggs (optional)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Nutmeg (optional)

 

Directions

 

1.  Place ground meat in a large skillet, or Dutch oven pot.  Sprinkle with about ½ tsp of Lawry’s seasoned salt, and brown meat. 

 

2.  Add frozen spinach.  Sprinkle with about ½ tsp of seasoned salt, and cover.  Cook on medium for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Color of the spinach will change from bright green to a darker color. 

 

3.  Stir to ensure spinach and meat are evenly mixed, and evenly distributed in the pan.  Crack eggs into top of spinach mixture, spacing evenly. 

4.  Sprinkle eggs lightly with nutmeg.  Cook until eggs are firm, about 10 minutes. 

 

4.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese before serving. 

 

 

Serving without egg, sprinkled with cheese

 

 

 

Chicken Casserole with Potatoes and Onions

 

It recently occurred to me to try a smaller version of Mom’spork chop and potato casserole, substituting chicken for the pork chops.  I had organic chicken breasts in the freezer, and I was thinking if I pounded them into cutlets, the texture might be similar to the pork, and chicken might work in the recipe.  So here’s my chicken version of the casserole: 

 

Ingredients: 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 medium potatoes, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

Lawry’s seasoned salt

¼ cup flour

1 cup milk

  

Instructions: 

- In bottom of a 2-quart lightly greased casserole dish, arrange a layer of onions, then a layer of potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

- Add milk. 

 

- Place chicken breasts between layers of plastic wrap.  Pound into flat cutlets with the flat side of a large meat mallet. 

- Place the chicken cutlets on top of the potatoes.  Sprinkle chicken lightly with Lawry’s seasoned salt.  Dust with flour.  (I decided to forgo the flour this time.  I don’t really think the flour adds much to the dish.) 

- Add another layer of potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

- Cover and bake at 350° for 60 minutes.  Test doneness of potatoes and chicken with a fork.  I like my chicken to fall apart easily without having to cut with a knife. 

- Top casserole with cheddar cheese.  Return to oven, uncovered for 10 minutes. 

 

Mom’s Pork Chop Casserole with Potatoes and Onions

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This simple family friendly pork chop casserole was one of my favorite Sunday dinner meals when I was growing up, and by “dinner” I mean lunch.  Most everybody I grew up with called the noon meal “dinner,” and evening meal “supper”. 

Mom would prepare this casserole, with pork chops and potatoes thicker than the photos in my photo, and the oven temp a bit lower, so that it could bake for 90 minutes.  She’d pop it into the oven right before walking out the door for church, and we’d pull it out when we got home.  Then I for one, would gorge on this great casserole. 

 

Pork Chop Casserole Recipe

5 medium potatoes sliced about 3/8” thick

2 medium onions sliced about 3/8” thick

Salt and pepper

6 pork chops

½ cup flour

2 cups milk

1 ½ cups cheddar cheese or 6 oz cheddar, sliced thin

 

Instructions 

- In the bottom of a large sized, lightly greased casserole dish, arrange a layer of onions, sliced but not separated.  Sprinkle with salt. 

 

- Top with a layer of potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

- Add milk. 

- Arrange pork chops on top of potatoes and dust liberally with flour.  I used thin sliced boneless pork chops.  My mom always used bone-in pork chops, of medium thickness. 

 

- Repeat with a layer of potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

- Cover and bake at 350° for 60 minutes.  Test doneness of potatoes and pork chops with a fork. 

- Top with cheddar cheese.  Return to oven, and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes to melt cheese.  If desired, use speed bake or broiler to brown slightly before removing from oven. 

 

 

 

I don’t know why casseroles get such a bad reputation.  This simple and delicious pork chop casserole makes a fantastic meal.  Just add a vegetable or salad. 

The milk and juices from the pork chops and onions are also delicious.  Put a slice of bread in a bowl and cover with the juice, and you’ve got another delicious treat.