Summer Squash for Picky Eaters?

This is a very belated response, but I am trying to keep up with my own garden. But my family loves this recipe and it is so quick and easy, too!

REFRIED BEANS CASSEROLE

In a 9-inch square baking dish, layer from the bottom up, the following ingredients to suit taste:

1 can refried beans
Sauteed chopped onions and garlic
Slices of summer and/or zucchini squash
Mushrooms (fresh or canned)
Sliced black olives
Salsa
Cheese

Bake all but the cheese at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, then add cheese and put back in oven until the cheese is melted and golden. (If you need a bigger dish, just use two or more cans of refried beans.)

Slice it longs ways, rub it in some olive oil - sprinkle w/ salt and pepper - grill it! One healthy and delicious option is Mrs. Dash - it is salt free - great for pregnant women - and there are almost a dozen varieties. my 2 faves are garlic & table blend. also great on scrambled eggs!

I am a huge squash fan, my hubby however is not crazy about the stuff. But here are 3 quick easy squash dishes he likes.
1st is super simple- simply marinade the squash (cut it up 1st either circles or sticks) in either balsamic vingerette or olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill it! Eat as a side, My hubby likes them crispy like fries!

2nd- chop up (small chunks) squash, zuchinni, and onions (garlic if you like). Saute in either butter/olive oil (your choice-you can keep it as light or oily as you like) then add to Jasmine rice (cooked) and mix together, so it's a rice and mixed veggie medley, add salt & pepper. It's a yummy side to grilled chix, seafood, or steak!

3rd- Cut squash into circle pieces, clean and salt-The salt will dehydrate the squash (you want this to occur or it will get too watery) cut up 4 cloves of garlic and a shallot. take aluminun foil and add either PAM or olive oil to the foil. This makes sure the squash doesn't stick to the foil. place shredded white chedder cheese on the foil, add a layer of garlic and shallots, then place squash (zucinni is great with this too)on top of the other layers. You can add another layer of cheese if you like, or salt & pepper. Fold the foil over this like a pocket. Place entire foil envelope on the grill for about 20 mins. It makes like a scalloped cheesy squash dish. This is one of our favs and it's soooo easy. you can eat it right out of the foil!

Hope my directions are clear! I'm new to this whole cooking thing but I am loving it!

You can french fry squash by slicing them thin and dropping them in hot oil. They will fry like potato chips without using any breading. Then put sugar and a little salt in a salt shaker and shake it on them. They are delicious and you can't help put eat them as them come out of the oil.

You can also grate them, mix with flour and egg and fry them, dropping the batter into a skillet just like making pancakes. These are delicious.

Squash has a pretty mild flavor so you can puree it and mix into things that you like like mac and cheese or to thicken soups. You can use it anywhere you would use zucchini. Bread and muffins are good ones for grated summer squash. Shred it and put it in burgers or meatloaf. Fritters are tasty and taste more like savory pancakes than vegetables. Just google zucchini fritters for recipes. Dice it or grate it and put it into soups. I just made a minestrone soup and that will be one of the last things i add to it.

Eat them raw, sliced with ranch to dip it in. I'm going to make meditteranean squash tomorrow. Shred or dice it into spaghetti sauce.

Lightly coat the bottom of a skilled with vegetable oil. Slice the squash and cut up chunks of onion. Season with salt and pepper and a little butter. You can mix in other vegetables such as zucchini and mushrooms for some variety. You can also season with soy sauce for a stir fry vegetable.

We had some in our garden too. My husband grilled the squash with only salt and pepper and it olive oil. It was really good. I don't like squash b/c it was mushy but the outside was crisp and I cut the inside mushy seeds out and just ate the outside. Easy. Or, google squash casserole or look it up on foodnetwork.com

I have a picky two year old, and occasionally he will eat a bite of this. I slice the squash (or zucchini) into strips the length of vegetable then lay them on a pan sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. I put parmesan herb seasoning or garlic salt on them then sprinkle shredded parmesan or mozarella cheese on top. Then I cook on 375 or so until the cheese starts to brown a bit.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/zucchini...

Try this recipe. You can use yellow squash as well as zucchini. Instead of breadcrumbs I have also used crushed crackers. They are really good and my family loves them.

I was just online last night researching this because I joined a farm support group and I receive a box of food from them weekly. This week I got TONS of squash and I don't really know what to do with it. Here is a great siet I found wtih lots of wonderful recipes. Enjoy and good luck!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/SquashRecipes.htm

If you like breads, try zucchini bread. It can be made with zucchini or yellow squash.

Here is one for fritters someone mentioned that you can probably use with squash too...
Ingredients:
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sour cream, divided
2/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup horseradish sauce
FRITTERS:
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Oil for frying
Directions:
In a blender, place 2/3 cup sour cream, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper; cover and process until blended. Transfer to a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, horseradish sauce and remaining sour cream. Cover and refrigerate for both sauces.
Place onion and butter in a microwave-safe dish. Cover; microwave on high until onion is tender. Add egg, zucchini and carrot. In a bowl, combine the flour, cheese, cornmeal, salt and pepper; stir in vegetable mixture just until combined.
In a skillet or deep-fat fryer; heat 2 in. of oil to 375°. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of batter into oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes until deep golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen fritters, 2/3 cup basil sauce and 1-1/2 cups horseradish sauce.

Here is another one someone gave me...I love it but my kids don't always eat it. Maybe yours are less picky than mine...

Don't know exact amounts...you kinda just have to judge.....

Squash, cooked and drained
1 large onion...cooked with squash
1 can of cream of chicken soup
Sour cream
Package of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing mix
Salt and Pepper
Medium shredded cheese, if you like it.
1 stick of butter

Add butter to stuffing mix. Pour some of it into bottom of casserole dish.
Mix squash, onion, sour cream and chicken soup together. Pour in over stuffing mix already in dish and top with remainder of stuffing.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Here is a family favorite that even my pickiest eater (who normally won't touch squash) loves. Slice four to six squash (discarding the top and bottom). Chop up about half a medium to large onion so that it makes rings (we like a lot of onion, but you can cut back if you don't care for it). Put squash and onion into a pot and add water enough to cover. Boil them until they are tender (can poke through squash easily with a fork). Drain very well. You don't want any excess water or the final product will be soggy. Put your cooked squash and onions into a casserole dish, salt and pepper to taste, top with cheddar cheese, cover the cheese with bread crumbs and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned and cheese is melted. It makes a great side dish. Hope you enjoy it.

if you dont like it you dont like it. however i do know a few tricks... One is just saute in butter, but if your not a big fan of squash you prob wont like that either, you can saute with white wine garlic and a little bit of butter and that is awesome! also try hiding it in foods spaghetti, meat loaf ect. hope this helps!

My mother in law makes the best squash pie. This is the only way that she will eat squash. It is a sweet dessert that doesn't even taste like squash. The first time I tried it I thought it was coconut pie. My kids will gobble up a whole pie in no time!

6 eggs
2 cups sugar
2-3 cups grated raw squash
1 stick melted butter
2 TBS. flour
2 tsp. lemon flavoring
2 tsp. coconut flavoring
2 frozen pie shells

Combine ingredients and pour into 2 pie shells. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. This also freezes really well.

Oh, there are SO many ways to be sneaky with squash LOL! I personally love it (raw, steamed, sauteed, roasted) but DS does not so I have to be sneaky with him. The key is to grate it...then you can add it to any ground meat recipe (just throw it in as you brown the meat or mix it into your burgers), and yellow squash hides in mac and cheese exceptionally well (just put it in the boiling pasta water for the last 2 minutes or so of cooking).
I even have a recipe for toffee blondies, chocolate pound cake, and chocolate chip cookies with zucchini! Let me know if you'd like them :).

Yum I love squash, but the hubby not so much so. We often grill it (like many other mamas have said), but we have also put them, meat, and other veggies on a skewer and made shish kabobs. My son likes squash in ratatouie (you'd think after the movie I would know how to spell it)! Just sautee tomatoes, onion, sqaush and zucchini together with some olive oil and spices and throw some parmesean cheese on it right before you finish it in the oven. It's delicious and nutritious, and you can probably find a better recipe online. Good luck and I must say that I am jealous over your fresh from the garden squash...there is nothing like it!

Hi B.,

My absolute favorite way to eat squash is to saute' it in BUTTER and salt. But I found my second favorite the other day at a friends house who had just picked her squash from the garden.

Slice it longways (so it looks like a veggietale,lol), lay the slices on a cookie sheet and spread a very thin coat of mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is primarily egg so it's good for you if not packed full of chemicals (read the ingredients, I like Duke's and Sauer's. These two brands are also low sugar). Then sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Bake until lightly brown.

Personaly I couldn't get enough of it because I didn't want to look greedy...

God bless you and your new little one. You're on the right track to keeping you and the baby healthy. Don't forget to make sure your prenatal vitamins are absorbable. The amount of vitamin doesn't mean much if they're not absorbing in your body. If you're doctor doesn't understand absorbability, feel free to contact me and I can get you some information :)

Regards,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

We love squash on the grill cut in half length ways with Mrs Dash or a spice of your choice. Another idea is to shred it and add to meat loaf. You can't taste that it was added and it adds veggies. Very tasty to add zucchini too.
Keep trying new stuff!
T.

My Dad makes really good squash(and zucchini too) either on the grill or in the oven. Just cut in half long ways, put in foil, and add a little honey to the top. Cook it until it's just how you like it. I like mine still kinda firm, but Dad cooks it until really soft. Either way... it's really good. My mom liked to put in a saute pan with just enough oil to keep it from sticking with some onoins and browning them all over... that's pretty good too!

I do yellow Squash the way my husband's paternal grandmother showed me except I do mine healthier. When frying stuff , I use Enova it's more expensive, but it only has 1 gram of fat and it is half canola and half olive oilI pour enough in my trusty cast iron fry pan to have about 1/4 in. on bottom of pan. In a glad sealable bag. I put 1 and 1/2 cups of yellow cornmeal, 1 and 1/4 teaspoon of Lawry's Seasoned Salt1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper and mix it or shake it to blend. Slice about 3 large squash(yellow or Zucchini)into discs not too thick. put in colander to wash and drain. Put a coupl of handful in cornmeal, shake to cover, then place in hot oil single-layerto fry , turn when golden brown drain on papertowel line plate repeat until all is fried. Since this started with Mama Gibbs and passed down to Harry's Mom, to meand I to my daughter and my grandchildren love it that's five generations. Also, another way I got my children to eat vegetables was to give them vegetable seeds to grow in their garden.