Yellow Squash Casserole (and Chicken Salad)

I just realized that, while I posted about the chicken salad that didn’t work, I neglected to show you what it’s supposed to look like.  It’s actually really good, as long as you don’t use shredded chicken with Mexican flavorings.  This is a low-fat riff on the chicken salad from Whole Foods that I used to love.  Tarragon is one of the greatest herbs of all time, in my opinion.  I can’t keep it growing over the winter, but I buy new plants every spring and eat it until the frost kills it.

On this particular evening, I served it with toast (because I love toast–no meal is complete without toast) and yellow squash casserole.  I’m not sure if squash casserole is a universal American thing, or if it’s exclusively southern.  I do know that I grew up with it (I grew up in the Age of Casseroles), and I still love it.  I actually prefer the casserole version to the even more ubiquitous squash-and-onions (which I know is southern–my college cafeteria forever ruined squash-and-onions for me).  Cheese makes everything better, don’t you think?

So this is the low-fat version of a squash “souffle” recipe that I cut out of a calendar (can’t remember what it was, or where I got it) about a hundred years ago.  Serve it with some chicken salad and toast, and be proud that you managed to cobble together a complete dinner from refrigerator remnants.

Squash Souffle
Just fits into an 8″ square pan

3 pounds yellow squash
1 large onion
1/2 cup eggbeater
1 T. brown sugar
1 envelope butter buds (but I often forget to add this, so it’s no biggie if you don’t have it)
1 & 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I use 1 c. fat-free, plus 1/2 cup 2% for the topping)
1 t. salt
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 large can evaporated milk

Cut squash into 2-inch pieces (although, if you cut them smaller, they’ll steam faster), add onion, and cook.  I usually put this mix in an 8 cup Pyrex with a lid and microwave it until the squash are tender.  It takes a little longer, but seems simpler, somehow, and less stick/burn prone.  You could steam it on the stovetop, though.

Drain well and mash (you can use that handy-dandy potato masher you ran out and bought last night).  Add brown sugar, butter, eggs, 1 cup cheese, salt and cornstarch that has been added to the evaporated milk.  Pour into flat casserole and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Don’t ask me what to do with the leftover evaporated milk.  I usually end up adding to soup or ice cream or pancakes.  It’s a nuisance.