My Perfect Squash Casserole

I absolutely love squash. It's my favorite vegetable by far. There are so many things you can do with it, and with the exception of straight up frying it - making into a casserole is my favorite 2nd favorite way to eat it.  
When we first started gardening years ago, I experimented with several different recipes - none of which were bad, but none of which were perfect either.  As with most of my other recipes, I dabbled around a bit in experimentations until I finally ended up with perfection.  

Perfection ended up being simpler than I thought.

Follow along with me.  It's really easy.
Here's what you need.  In two parts.  Because I forgot to add the 2 bowls of squash & onions to the first photo.  Oh, and while the cheese crackers are mandatory for the recipe, the Angry Birds are optional.  Well, unless you ask my 2 year old.  

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the squash (or how my PawPaw would say - 'squish') and the onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and pour in some water, just enough to cover.  Cover, & cook until the squash & onions are tender - about 5 minutes.

Drain it - and then set it aside in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, salt & pepper.   In another bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs & cheese. Mix half of the crumb mixture with the squash, and then stir in the egg mixture.  Pour into a 2 or 3 quart baking dish.

Sprinkle on the remaining crumb/cheese mixture.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

My Perfect Squash Casserole

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Ingredients:

• 4 cups sliced yellow squash
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 2 cups cheese crackers, crushed
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• enough water to cover

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place squash and onion in a large skillet & pour in enough water to cover.  Turn the heat on medium-high, cover, & cook until tender - about 5 minutes.  Drain well, and place in a large bowl.  Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, salt, & pepper.  In another bowl, mix together the crumbled cheese crackers & the cheese.  Stir half of the crumb mixture into the squash along with the egg mixture.  Combine well.  Pour into a 2 to 3 quart casserole dish, and top with the remaining cracker/cheese mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes.


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Chicken Fried Steak with White Gravy

Here in the South, we definitely love our fried food.  Fried chicken, fried squash, fried okra - I mean, can you blame us? At the top of that list of favorite fried foods sits Chicken Fried Steak smothered in white country gravy.  Add you a side of mashed taters - also smothered in gravy, along with a buttermilk biscuit to sop up whatever gravy is left on your plate - and you've got a plate straight outta foodie heaven.
Wow, I sure said gravy a lot there.  I like gravy.  A lot.  It's hereditary, so blame my mama.  (Sorry Mama)

This chicken fried steak of mine has the perfect amount of crispy breading, and the steak itself is super tender.  Then the gravy - oh the gravy.  You'll be licking the bowl the gravy is served in, trust me.  
Now, make sure you serve this classic southern dish with another classic piece of the South - my Mama's buttermilk biscuits.  If you ain't tried them yet, well you best do so because you have never tried a better biscuit than hers.  Even if you've never been able to make a good biscuit, you can make my Mama's.  
And, don't forget Great Granny Brown's mashed taters.

Chicken Fried Steak with White Gravy

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Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 pound cube steaks
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 cups vegetable shortening, for frying
• 
  
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
Place 2 cups of flour into a shallow bowl, or pie plate.  Stir stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a separate shallow bowl; stir in the buttermilk, egg, hot sauce, & garlic powder.  Dredge each steak first in the flour, and then in the batter, and again in the flour.  Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour.
Heat the shortening in a deep cast-iron skillet.  Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown - about 3-5 minutes per side.  Place the fried steaks on a plate with paper towels to drain.  Drain the fat from the skillet reserving 1/4 cup of the oil and as much of the solid remnants as possible.
Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil.  Whisk the remaining flour into the oil.  Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release the solids into the gravy.  Stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer; cook until thick, about 7 minutes or so.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Spoon the gravy over the steaks to serve.


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Great Granny Brown's Mashed Potatoes

We all have family members that passed away before we were born, but have heard stories about our entire lives.  My Great Granny Brown was one of those for me.  She was my mother's only grandmother & passed away when Mama was 13.  Out of all her family members, her Granny Brown was the one she talked about the most.  
It's funny how memories & food can sometimes go hand in hand.  Food just triggers things like that - and recipes that were originally from family members that have passed on take on a whole new meaning than just a simple dish.  It's like a piece of our loved ones that lives on.

These mashed potatoes live on from my Great Granny Brown.  They are so simple, and sometimes simple recipes like this end up being the best ones we've ever tasted.  These are definitely nothing fancy, but they sure are special - and delicious.

Great Granny Brown's Mashed Potatoes

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Ingredients:

• 3.5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled & sliced
• 4 cups water
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Boil potatoes for 20 minutes in the water, drain.  Add evaporated milk & butter to warm pan.  Add potatoes & mash.  Salt & pepper to taste.

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