Grandma Carolyn's Classic Yellow Squash Casserole

Happy Thanksgiving Day Y'all!

Most folks think that Southerners like their vegetables smothered in butter and cheese -- which we do. This holds especially true for yellow squash. 

Perhaps more than any other side-dish on Thanksgiving Day supper -- or Christmas and Easter for that matter --  the one I looked forward to the most on the table was my grandmother's classic yellow squash casserole. 

Now like just about every other proud Southern grannies my grandmother Carolyn didn't specifically follow recipes most of the time. Oh sure she knew what to use and how to make it, but her cooking instructions when I helped her prepare big meals sounded something like this: use a pinch of salt here, a dash of pepper there, a "thingie" of something, then use that "doohickey" to smooth it out. Also if you had no clue what the "doohickey" was, she would fuss at you for not being a mind-reader. Yep, that was my grandmother, God bless her soul!

Having watched and helped my grandmother prepare this wonderful side dish with her for years, I am going to provide y'all with the recipe -- uh, with specific measurements for the ingredients, of course.

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced yellow squash -- cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 large carrot -- grated

1 onion -- chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1 1/2 cup grated cheese

1 small box cheddar cheese crackers 

1/2 stick margarine -- melted 

salt & pepper

 Preparation and Cooking Directions

Boil squash, carrots and onion in a pot of water for about 7 to 10 minutes  until tender, then drain really well. Combine soup, sour cream, and cheese with the vegetables. Add salt and pepper as desired and carefully fold the combination to avoid crushing the vegetables. Pour into a lightly greased casserole dish, smoothing it out. Crush cheese crackers and stir into the melted margarine, then sprinkle over top of the casserole to form a light crust. Preheat oven then bake your casserole at 350F for 20 minutes, then cool and serve. 

This recipe serves up to 8 people for one supper.  

*On a personal note, you can also modify this recipe to make a really awesome Yellow & Zucchini Squash Casserole by simply using 1/4 sliced yellow squash and 1/4 sliced zucchini squash.

There you have it folks, my Grandma Carolyn's Classic Yellow Squash Casserole. It goes good with just about every big supper. I know it is popular with my immediate family and friends. I hope y'all with try it out and enjoy it for yourselves. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day today, and a wonderful Dixie day, y'all!

Hiking Crowders Mountain

Greetings and Salutations, y'all!

On Saturday, November 18th, I traveled with my sister Olivia, her boyfriend Brian, and my two nephews: J.T. and Caleab, up to North Carolina and back to Crowders Mountain State Park. 

Now as y'all know, the last several autumns I have traveled to Crowders Mountain State Park and been up both peaks before, as y'all have seen in previous posts HERE and HERE. I've also told y'all several personal stories about my yearly visits there as well. 

Once again I was traveling there to take pictures of the autumn leaves from the peak of the mountain, but this time I had plenty of company with me. It was my nephew's first trip to Crowders Mountain and I am pleased to say they really enjoyed the experience. 

It was a clear and not too cool day with high temperatures at around 58F with only a little breeze. A nice hike and a good warm light hoodie were more than enough when we stopped to take a view at Crowders' peak at 1,625 feet above sea level. 

The following are photos of the hike and the outstanding view from the top of the mountain -- as well as an unexpected shot of the moon over the distance city of Charlotte, North Carolina.

My nephew J.T. pretending he's a beaver.

A neat Little Free Library in the visitor's center
museum.

Crowders Mountain in Gaston County, between Kings
Mountain and Gastonia, North Carolina.

Caleab, Brian and Olivia.

J.T. and Caleab posing.

Beautiful shot of the cliffs and the fall foliage.

LOL they don't make teenagers like they used to!

Radio towers at the top of the mountain.
The tallest tower on the mountain is owned by
CBS Communications and rises 268 feet.

Olivia and J.T. checking out the view from the
safety of the large rock formation. Charlotte can
be seen on the horizon in the distance.

Close up of Charlotte though the haze of the smog.

This neat looking rock formation resembles
petrified wood.

This is the boulder where your favorite blogger
once preformed a bit of naturalism on a rainy summers
day a decade ago.
I will tell that story in my next blog post. Stay tuned.

Panoramic shot of the eastern view top of Crowder's Mountain -- including views of the City of Gastonia on the left and Charlotte in the distance.

A group shot at one of the boulders on top of the
overlook.

Yours truly enjoying a much needed lunch break.
And yes, that is about as close as I would allow
myself to get to the edge!

Ugh! People....Proof that some folks have neither
respect for natural beauty, nor support the
conservation of beautiful sites for everyone to
enjoy.

Just as I was about to leave, I took what I thought
would be one last shot of the horizon and found
that the moon had already risen!

Oops, almost stepped on this Daddy Long-legs
Pholcidae. He blended in really well with the
dried fall leaves.

Which way are we going guys?

After taking the stairs back down and the shorter trail back to the van, we went to nearby Gastonia, North Carolina, and had a well deserved supper at Golden Corral. The hike was a great workout, and the views were worth it -- as were the excited expressions on my nephew's faces from something other than video games, LOL!

Well folks, I hope y'all enjoyed my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them for all of you. As always have a wonderful Dixie Day, and y'all come back now, ya hear?

This blogger is a proud contributor to the Friends of Crowders Mountain. For more information about Crowders Mountain State Park and how you can help contribute to maintaining the natural beauty of this Appalachian heritage site, please visit the Friends of Crowders Mountain website in the link provided on this blog page.