A Garden Story and My Favorite Squash Casserole Recipe

The Friday before Easter, as is a farmers tradition, I got out and planted our summer garden.  Justin was super busy building our forever farmhouse, so I did all the garden work myself, with three kids underfoot.  I tilled the soil and raked the soil and planted my heart out.  The kids and I planted corn, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, okra, sunflowers, tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon.

My little plants started poking up from the ground and we were so excited.  I had great plans for all the food I’d be cooking this summer and putting up for the winter.  And then, Justin, in all his goodness, went out one evening before it was supposed to rain and threw tons of fertilizer on our garden.  The problem was, the predicted rain didn’t come.  Not until after my precious budding garden had sat out an entire day under the scorching summer sun and all that fertilizer burned up half the garden.

We worked really hard, but we lost all of our tomatoes, peppers, and watermelons.  Half the corn died.  A few zucchini and a lot of okra.  The plants that did survive are now thriving, though.  We have six, HUGE squash plants, a handful of okra plants, a few rows of corn, a couple sunflower plants, and two cucumber plants.  What we have left is a ton of squash, but not much else.  I feel like Forrest Gump, only with squash–we’ve had fried squash and sautéed squash and squash with onions and baked squash, but our favorite is squash casserole.

Squash Casserole

4 medium squash, sliced
8 oz. shredded cheese
1/4 onion, diced
2 heaping tablespoons Mayo
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
4 tablespoons melted butter

1.  Slice squash.  Submerge squash slices in boiling water for 4-5 minutes, or until tender.

2. In an oven-safe container, combine squash, cheese, onion, and mayo.

3.  Crumble Ritz crackers and sprinkle them over the top.

4. Melt butter and pour over the Ritz cracker crumbles.  Be sure to spread the butter evenly or the crackers will burn easily.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Now, help a sister out.  What is YOUR favorite squash recipe?  I’m contemplating making pickled squash, but I need to hear from someone who’s tried it so I’ll know if it’s worth my time! 🙂