Cheesy Squash Casserole

Are you ready for my first squash of the season, because I sure am!

This beautiful squash was purchased during one of my recent Reading Terminal trips. 

For this meal I called upon the power of twitter to provide me with an awesome butternut squash recipe. I asked and twitter answered!

My inspiration for the meal was based on – Paula Deen’s Cheesy Squash Casserole – Yum!

I made a few changes here and there, but followed the bulk of the recipe provided.

Step one – peel the squash. I don’t think I have ever technically peeled a squash like this before, but the vegetable peeler did the job great!   

I love the bright orange/yellow color inside the squash.

Without the skin, ready to be sliced and diced.

I sliced the squash in half and embraced the orange. 

I used my melon baller to scoop out the guts of the squash.

It worked like a charm!

Side Note: Preheat oven to 350* while chopping up the veggies!

Then I got to cubing up my squash.

To do the cutting I used my favorite knife, the New West Knife.

Ingredients for Cheesy Squash Casserole

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 butternut squash, cubed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cauliflower, cut
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 handful of crackers, crushed medium to fine

Serves 4-6

 

After cutting everything up I sautéed all the veggies until soft. 

While I was getting my cook on, I had myself a little brewski. Remember when I went to the Dogfish Head brewery a few weeks ago? Good times, good times! Any other Punk fans out there?

I knew the dish was ready for the next step when the butternut squash was very soft and mushy. I then transferred the dish to a mixing bowl to add the parmesan, cheddar and yogurt – as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Then I transferred everything to my Dutch oven, which I used as a casserole dish without the top to go into the oven. 

It was orangey yellow and just beautiful pre-oven!

Then I crunched up 2 handfuls of crackers and sprinkled it on top.  

    

The crackers added a little CRUNCH!

Into the oven it went! Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.

It came out pure perfection!

I am sort of obsessed with my addition of the cauliflower. Mixed with the butternut squash it was so tasty!

This dish was amazing. It was the perfect combination of savory and sweet. The butternut squash gave it a hit of sweetness and the rest of the veggies kept the flavors more calm and the crackers gave it a little crunch action!

 

It might be one of my new favorite butternut squash recipes! Thank you so much to my twitter friend who suggested this!

What’s your favorite butternut squash recipe?