Ritz Summer Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups sliced summer squash
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet or saute pan over medium-low heat. Add squash and garlic and cook until tender.

To a large bowl, add eggs and lightly whisk. Add cheese and milk and whisk into egg until well-combined. Add cooked squash and onions to egg mixture and stir well to combined. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet used to cook squash and onions. Add to squash casserole mixture. Add cayenne pepper, if using, along with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray and pour squash casserole mixture into the baking dish. Top evenly with crushed Ritz crackers. 

Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes, or until top has lightly browned and casserole does not “jiggle” when the dish is moved.

Allow to sit for about 3 minutes before serving.

Myrtle's Note:  It is often hard to at least halve recipes, for the single person, but this one worked.  Since I do not like onions, I omitted the medium chopped onion that was to be cooked with the squash and substituted garlic.  I also added a couple of dashes of onion powder.  I actually browned/sautéd the squash instead of just cooking it until it was soft (translate that, my slices had brown crispy spots).  I also wondered about the "sleeve" of Ritz crackers because the only boxes I could find were squatty, not tall.  I ended up using about 2/3 of a sleeve for my halved recipe to have a nice thick coating.  Finally, I added extra cheese.  What could it hurt, right?  I cooked the halved recipe in a 6x6 Corning Ware casserole dish that I had.  

PS  I would LOVE a lesson on how you measure out cups of sliced summer squash

PS2  I happen to think "does not 'jiggle'" is the BEST cooking direction I have ever come across!!

Yield:  6-8

Source: http://addapinch.com/cooking/2013/02/16/squash-casserole-recipe/#.Uip46xaBjFK