CHEESE SQUASH

I finally took on the cheese squash.  As I have mentioned before, I picked up a cheese squash a few weeks ago with no idea what to do with it. I thought I might do something with it for the last Weekend Cookbook Challenge, but laziness took over and I did nothing.  Every now and then I would search the web for ideas what to do with it, not finding anything, really.  Meanwhile, it just sat there, taunting me to attempt some sort of attack. 

So, yesterday, I took my big chef’s knife to it.  I had read it was orange inside, but I was still surprised just how orange it was:

 

Getting the seeds out was a joy, again, just like a pumpkin.  But, I dug and dug, getting squash guts and seeds all over the counter.  I then cut it into six pieces and peeled a wedge with a knife, diced it and cooked it.  It tasted, well, squash-y, nothing special at all.  I peeled the rest of it, chopped it up and vacuum sealed it in bags to be frozen for future use.

I didn’t freeze all of it, I kept a couple pounds and made a casserole to go with dinner.

SQUASH AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

• 2 pounds of winter squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 3 Tbls. of butter
• 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
• ½ cup of finely diced onion (see note)
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ tsp. of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cups of buttered breadcrumbs

Boil the squash in salted water until is soft.  Mash the squash and mix in the rest of the ingredients except the breadcrumbs.  Pour the squash mixture into a buttered casserole and top with the breadcrumbs.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes.

Quoting Jamie Oliver again, easy-peesy.  The only thing I would do differently in chop the onion instead of dicing it and sautéing it for 5 or 6 minutes before adding it into the squash mixture.  The onion was bit to “bright” for the rest of the dish.