Yellow Squash Casserole

With Thanksgiving looming on the horizon, I wanted to try to come up with some non-traditional side dishes for that oh-so traditional food holiday.  I like a good change of pace and it's fun to come up with new alternatives so here's a nice squash dish thats crunch-topped and filling.

Yellow Squash Casserole

3 lbs yellow squash, cut into 1/4" slices
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1-1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 cup carrots, grated
1 (10 oz) can cream of celery soup
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup cornflakes (cereal)
1/2 cup crushed French fried onions
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp pepper

Places yellow squash slices in a large pot.  Add onion, 1 tsp salt, and water, just to cover.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cooking for 5 minutes.  The goal here is to parboil the squash before baking them.

Drain well and pat dry with a paper towel.

In a large bowl, stir together grated carrots, cream of celery soup, sour cream, chives, and 1/2 tsp salt.  

 

Fold into cooked squash and spoon mixture into a large (2 qt) baking dish.

Mix together cornflakes, French fried onions, butter and pepper. 

Sprinkle over squash mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.  After 20-25 minutes, cover with foil to prevent excessive browning.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving up to allow the cream base to thicken up a bit.

NOTES

It is important to get as much moisture drained out as possible after you parboil the squash, otherwise the extra moisture makes the creamy casserole base a little runny after it bakes.

I would recommend draining them, then placing them on a rack over a paper towel-lined cookie sheet to allow them to drain a bit more, then pat them dry.

Even if your mixture is runny after it bakes, we found that after a night in the fridge and a gentle reheating, the sauce get's thicker.