Mama's Baked Squash

Summertime is time to enjoy those fresh-from-the-garden vegetables, and fabulous dishes that can be made from those vegetables.  One of our favorite veggies around here is yellow crookneck squash.  

One of our squash plants in this year's garden.

Another all-time favorite at my house is Baked Squash.  When I was a little girl, and Mama would make this for supper, my brothers and I literally fought over it!  You know something is good when the kids are counting how many there are and how many are theirs!  Just like we did as kids, my kids do the same when it comes to baked squash.  It's super simple, and as usual I don't have exact measurements, but I'll do my best!

Here's what you need:

• Fresh crookneck squash, about a dozen.  (you want the "baby" ones, the big ones don't work well in this recipe.
• a sleeve of saltine crackers
• half of a white onion, minced
• 1/2 - 3/4 stick of BUTTER (not the same as margarine!)
• one egg
• a "dollop" of sour cream... how much is that?  Well, I don't know, but till it looks right
• bread crumbs
• Salt, pepper & paprika to taste

First, after you have your fresh squash, give it a good bath...

Next put in a pot of boiling water and cook until fork tender (maybe 15 minutes).  If a small knife or fork glides in easily, it's ready. 

(By the way, that big one in the center I later ditched.  It's just too large for this recipe.)

After the squash are fork tender, take a knife and trim the stems both ends.

The next step is to cut the squash lengthways.  Go ahead and do all of them at once so they can begin to cool off, and to stop the cooking process.

And then open them up like this...

Use a teaspoon, and scoop out the squashes innards...ok, I hate that word too!  

What shall we call them?  Squash guts?  No, that sounds disgusting!  

Squash insides?  Nah.

The yellow goop?  

I'm open to suggestions here... (my lack of culinary expertise is showing...again!)

Anyhoo, moving on...

No, that is not my hand... I am not THAT hairy!  My Main Man was helping me out because those things were so hot they were burning my little baby fingers!  

(No eye-rolling, please!)

Now put all your {insert your term of choice here for the interior contents of the squash}, and add your butter first.  The heat of the squash will begin to melt that yumminess...

Now lay your squash shells out on a cookie sheet (I spray mine with non-stick spray), and let's get working on that filling...

Add your minced onion... 

Then your crumbled crackers...

Then the "dollop" of sour cream...

 Next you need one egg...

Mix these ingredients all together, add a little salt & pepper, and it should look something like this...

Stuff the shells, top with a sprinkling of bread crumbs, and paprika, and put them on a cookie sheet...

Bake on 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until they look a little like this...

Enjoy this delicious, but simple side dish that everyone in your family is sure to love!

Keep Shining!

The Woo-Hoo Gal

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Mango-Pineapple Salsa!

If you haven't tried the amazing blend of sweet fruits blended with the flavors traditionally used in salsas, you're in for a treat! Make this today...seriously, it's that good! Best part of this recipe is that you can go from zero to eating in about 10 minutes flat!

Here's what you will need to whip up your own batch of Mango-Pineapple Salsa...
* One large, ripe mango
* fresh, cored pineapple (you will use about half) I suppooooose, you could use canned pineapple, but you would never do that, right?)
* bunch of cilantro
* one small white onion
* one lime
* half of a large bell pepper, any color
* one fresh jalapeño pepper
* Jane's Krazy Salt

Use a vegetable peeler, and peel the mango...

Slice into long strips, and then dice in small dices...

Yep, that's it! Just like this...

Next, finely dice the cilantro. It's difficult to use and exact measurement, but maybe about 1/4-1/3 of a cup. Of course, you can add more if you like, and less if you like. Shoot, you could even skip it all together, but why on earth would you do that? You love cilantro, right? I've found that with most people it's a love or hate thing...we happen to love at mi casa!

Next, cut your peeled, cored pineapple in half. Set one half aside (delish with your breakfast tomorrow), and then chop the other half into chunks and then dice. I used my handy-dandy little chopper dealio for that.

Next take a fresh jalapeño, and cap both ends. Don't be afraid of these, they are really not that hot, especially these larger ones. I like medium heat when it comes to spices, and these are just fine, especially when mixed with the sweetness of the fruit.

Cut the pepper longways and open it up...

Remove the pith and seeds...

Dice the pepper and to suit your taste...

Now, this is the part where you add a small, finely chopped onion...
What? Say you can't see the picture? Yeah, well, I forgot that part. Use your imagination! I mean seriously, you Reaaalllly need to SEE me do that? Sad.
Ok, moving on...
Squeeze in the juice of one lime, and add the Krazy Salt...

Mix together with a wooden spoon and you will have this awesomeness...

Serve with some blue corn tortilla chips and dive in! ¡Fabuloso!

Special thanks to my lovely assistant, Princess #3. Not only is she an amazing sous chef, she has some crazy good food photography skills for an almost 11 year old!

Keep Shining!

The Woo-Hoo Gal

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

"Hello, my name is Beverly, and I'm a sweet tea-aholic."

There is absolutely nothing I love anymore than a glass of perfectly brewed sweet tea.
Well... ok, there's a few things, but you know what I mean! In my struggle to lose weight, "drinking" my calories (aka, sweet tea) is probably my biggest habit to overcome. I LOVE my tea. I mean really really love it. Like IV drip love it...

"Hello, my name is Beverly, and I'm a sweet tea-aholic."

When I was a young newlywed, living about four hours from home, I remember calling my Mama, and having her walk me through the process of making tea. Mine didn't taste just right, so I went to the expert. I've tweaked Mama's method a little over the years, but the results are just as fabulous. There are many methods for making tea, many people I know make a simple syrup, and use that for making their tea, others boil the tea bags longer. Don't have your own tried & true recipe yet? No problem...I'll share my method with you for my favorite drink... ever!

Southern Sweet Tea
(Makes one gallon, or you can half for a 2 qt. pitcher)


* Bring about a 3-4 cups of water to a rolling boil.

* After the water is at a rolling boil, add 4 family size teabags. I use 4 Luzianne Family Size Tea Bags (and the decaf is good, if you prefer).

* Just a little tip, I tie my tea bags together like this, so that they are easier to remove later.

* Make sure the tea bags are throughly saturated, and move them around a little. After 60 seconds or so, remove the pot from the heat.

* Allow to steep for a good 10-12 minutes. If you don't steep your tea correctly, it will not be good! I know it's hard to wait, but STEEP the tea!

* In the meantime, add 2 cups of sugar to a gallon size pitcher. (and try to ignore that high-class manicure!)

* After the tea has finished steeping, pour over the sugar, carefully squeezing the liquid from the bags. (There are few things more frustrating than breaking a tea bag at this stage!)

* Quickly stir the sugar well while the tea is still very warm, until all the sugar is dissolved.

* Fill the pitcher with cold water until the one gallon level, and stir well. Serve over ice with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint if you like. (I'm out of mint, or maybe to lazy/tired to go pick some in the herb garden) Delish!

One other tip, make a lower calorie treat, an "Arnold Palmer", by mixing equal parts of sweet tea with a sugar-free lemonade. These are favorites at my house, too.

I'm proud to say all three of my girls know very well how to make an awesome pitcher of tea...hope I still get some calls one day for something!


Keep Shining!
The Woo-Hoo Gal



Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Clean out the fridge = lasagna?

Saturdays are usually my clean out the fridge day.  I must say, this is one of those jobs I loathe.  It's right up there with ironing my girls cotton, pleated uniform skirts... YUCK!

My Main Man scores major points when he does this task for me, and bless him, he often does. Today I decided to take some of these ingredients that were well on their way to being yucky, and squeeze some supper out of it.   See that wrinkly green pepper?... nothing can save it now but a hot skillet!  The sour cream has 2 weeks left, so it needs to be used soon too.

I had enough of the right things to make my "Faux Lasagna".  I call it "faux" because I think all "real" lasagna is required to have ricotta cheese.  I don't hate ricotta, but I'm certainly not a fan, so I replace the ricotta with two things I do love... sour cream and cream cheese!  I know, I know... sounds a little weird, but I promise, it  really is delicious!  I'll share my recipe.  It's really simple!  
              (I know, I know... fattening!)  I'll be healthy Monday...pinky swear!

Here's what you'll need:

• ground beef
• lasagna noodles
• onion (I used green & white onion, because I had a little of each)
• sweet peppers, any color (again, I had a little yellow & a little green)
• one container of whipped cream cheese
• Olive oil
• a cup or so of sour cream (sorry, I just don't measure much)
• a variety of shredded cheese (I used what I had some Italian mix, sharp cheddar)
• grated parmesan cheese (Pah-leeze don't use that powder in the green bottle!  If you don't have fresh grated, at least get some "real" cheese!)
• a jar of your favorite tomato sauce (I love Bertoli, plus I had coupons for it.  I make homemade sauce for  usually, but its just not necessary for this recipe.  Bertoli does a pretty good job!)
• an extra fresh tomato
• salt, pepper & Italian seasoning

I want to be sure you understand that this is what went into today's lasagna, but next time it might be a little different.  It's all about what's in the fridge at the time.

Start by chopping the onion and peppers.  I had never used green onions in this dish, but I had some leftover, so I used the tops and all, along with about a forth of a large white onion.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, and get those veggies sauteing.  

(Please note that awesome cool magenta pinky nail!  I was trying out nail polish for church tomorrow, but THAT is another post!)

After your veggies have cooked and look something like this...

Add your ground beef and then it should look like this...

It will soon look like this...

Drain any excess oil from the meat, then add one jar of spaghetti sauce, and a diced tomato, 

 so it looks like this...

L

Let it simmer over medium low heat until it looks like this...

How did you like my mad time-lapsed photography skills?

Anyhoo, in the mean time you can mix together the sour cream, cream cheese.  You could use a regular block of cream cheese, but you will get a sore shoulder from beating it!  Lucky me. my chilins had not eaten all my whipped cream cheese on their Wheat Thins!   Season this mixture with salt, pepper & Italian seasoning.  It should resemble this...

Next, get your sassy, adorable, robin's egg blue, polka-dotted casserole dish ready.  

WHAT?  You cannot be serious!  You have NO sassy, adorable, robin's egg blue, polka-dotted casserole dish?  Ok, then, you can use that plain ole' white pyrex with the rust colored flowers that Grandma gave Aunt Myrtle in 1972, but be warned... 

it won't taste as good!  

Well, line whatever casserole dish you choose with the noodles.  

I use Barilla no-cook noodles.  They are always just perfect, and no boiling?  Me likey!

 Now,  just line your casserole dish with the noodles, and spread a layer of your cream cheese mixture, and sprinkle with grated parmesan.  So you should be at this stage...

Next you add a layer of sauce and the other shredded cheeses, top with a layer of noodles, and start over layering,  It should look like this:

and then this...

Until you have this...

I had two boxes of noodles, so I was able to squeeze two pans out of my ingredients, but it didn't even take a second half of a box.  Now I can run some dinner by to some friends, or I could wrap this well, and freeze it.

Pop this in a 350 degree oven, and cook until hot and bubbly.  Mine cooked for about 45 minutes.  I wanted to show you a picture of that beautiful pan of cheesy lasagna, but when I went back to take a picture, this is what I found...

Maybe that says it all, right?  So, clean out the fridge, and don't be afraid to try something a little out of the ordinary.  You may love it!

Thank you for all your support!  My blog is now two weeks old, and I'm having a fabulous time.  I've already met some really genuinely lovely people... those are my favorite kind!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  I now know that bloggers "live" for comments!  Your responses mean so much.  Don't forget to tell your friends to follow the blog.  We're only 5 follows away from one of you winning a fabulous prize!  Get the details here!  

Keep Shining!

The Woo-Hoo Gal

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.