Skillet Squash

Zucchini and yellow squash are bountiful right now. This side dish is so simple and delicious, you may wonder why you have never made it before (at least I did). Squash is almost tasteless and will pick up any flavors that you toss at it. Recently I have enjoyed making a combination of zucchini and yellow squash with either Mexican or Italian seasonings to compliment the main dish. In this picture, I made Mexican seasoned zucchini to go with the fantastic cheesy chili mac. It takes about 10 minutes to make this side dish. I don't really have a recipe, but do give credit to Deborah over at Antiquity Oaks for the inspiration. This is simply a method to help you get creative with some squash!

Skillet Squash
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings

Olive or canola oil
1 small zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced (or do a combination of both)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
About 1/4 cup diced onion
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed

Mexican Seasoned
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Chili powder

Italian Seasoned
Dried or fresh basil
Dried oregano

1. Heat oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Season squash with salt, pepper and either Mexican or Italian spices.

2. Place squash and onion in the skillet. Let sit for a couple minutes then begin to stir. When the squash begins to look transparent on the edges add the garlic. Continue to cook until squash is transparent to the middle of the slices a little bit of browning is okay. Serve immediately.

My Review

• Preparation: 5
• Super fast and simple
• Taste: 5
• I have made this side dish many times
• Cost: 5
• Inexpensive and healthy
• Clean-up: 5
• Changes
• Experiment with some of your favorite flavors. Squash is so easy to cook with!

Scalloped Potatoes

I'm bound to love anything with the word potato. Thus the reason I had to try these and subsequently loved them!

Scalloped Potatoes

from Taste of Home Cookbook

3 T butter, divided

1 T flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-1/2 cups milk

4 cups potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

3/4 cup shredded cheese

In a small saucepan, melt 2 T butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 mintues or until thickened.

In a greased 9x9 inch baking dish, arrange half the potatoes, onion and green pepper in layers; cover with half of the sauce. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Melt remaining butter; combine with bread crumbs and sprinkle over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition facts (1/2 cup): 250 calories, 28g fat,  8g saturated fat, 36mg cholesterol, 97 mg sodium, 27g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 8g protein.

My Review

• Preparation: 2
• Preparing the dish is easy enough, it's the lengthy baking that gave this a 2 rating. It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes from start to finish, but there's lots of down time while it's baking.
• Taste: 4
• I will make this dish again. It had great flavor, and as I said before, I love anything potato!
• Cost: 5
• This is less than $1.50 per serving. It's an estimate but I think it's pretty accurate. Potatoes are dirt cheap and the only other ingredient I had to buy was the green pepper.
• Clean-up: 4
• This was a molehill of dishes (see review scale tab if you are confused and think I'm strange); cutting board, chopper, sauce pan, baking dish and a few utensils.
• Changes
• I would use less onion next time, there was a little much for me but it was still good.
• I made a loaf of bread last month and froze half of it. I thawed that out and let it dry to use as bread crumbs. The store bought ones are so small, I like them a little chunkier. I would probably use more bread crumbs too.
• I use Pampered Chef stoneware, so I don't have to grease the baking dish. The recipe called for a 1-1/2 quart dish, I don't have that so I used my 9x9 inch stone.
• Summary
• Great recipe! The creamy homemade sauce goes nicely with the potatoes, onion, and green pepper. My husband's favorite part was the cheesy, crunchy topping. Good as a main or side dish. Definitely a keeper!