Squash Casserole

I stumbled across this recipe about two months ago and I think I've made it about 10 times.  It's that good.  My family loves it.  I even served it at Thanksgiving - it was that good.

First, here's a quick picture of some of the Christmas treats Mom and I made this year. 
It's a tradition for us to bake a ton of things prior to Christmas. We love to bake and we have a lot of fun together.



And one more non-squash related picture - of Bridget, and in the background, my daughter Bailey.



Wait - are they on the sofa??  Doggies are not allowed on the sofa!!

Back to the Squash Casserole.  I found the original recipe here.

Here's what you need (and this has been tweaked a bit):

• 6 cups large diced yellow squash (about 5 or 6)
• Vegetable oil or Olive oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter (I only used about 2)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)  I used 1 sleeve of crackers
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 350.

Chop up the squash and onion.  Sauté the onion in the oil and butter, then add in the squash.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for about 5 minutes in a skillet.  Move to a mixing bowl and add in the cheeses and sour cream.  Pour mix into a greased 9x13 pan and then sprinkle the crushed crackers on top.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.   

Here's my squash, all washed and ready to be chopped up.



Bailey took this action shot for me - chop up all of the squash please. I slice them straight down from top to bottom, and then slice them thinly.



You will end up with a lot of squash.



Then slice up an onion the same way.  Go ahead and try not to cry.  I dare you.

Go ahead and toss the onion into a skillet with a bit (tablespoon) of olive oil or veggie oil and the butter, and sweat the onion for a bit.  Add the salt and pepper too please.



To add to you level of difficulty, please have a dog follow you around and whenever you stand still for more than two seconds, have that dog lay on your feet. 

Please. 




And then when you aren't paying attention, please have your daughter take a "selfie" of her and her best friend, Taylor. 

Thankyouverymuch.



After the onions have cooked just a bit, add the squash and let them cook in the skillet for about 5 minutes. 

Then move them to a large mixing bowl.  Add in the two cheeses, and sour cream.



Mix these together and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.   Spread the crushed crackers on top.


Here's the squash with the crackers on top, ready to go into the oven.



Bake at 350' until it is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.  You will see that the crackers don't get too brown.  That's ok.  It's still yum!!




I have made this dish ahead of time and then baked it just before serving.  It turns out great every time. 




Enjoy!

Icemageddon and Bridget

Here in the Dallas area, we are just starting to get out of the ice storm called "Icemageddon!"  It started raining freezing rain/sleet on Thursday, December 5 and we got several inches by Friday morning.  On top of that, the temperatures didn't go above freezing for a couple of days - so we were iced in.

My mom came over on Thursday and stayed with us during the storm.  We enjoyed having her and it was nice to all be stuck in the house together.  We did a bit of cooking over the weekend, but mostly we stayed warm under blankets.  It was heaven.

Here's our house a couple of days after the storm hit.




I thought these ice crystals were pretty.



Our street is looking more like an ice rink.



The bushes in front of our house collected lots of ice too.




And now on to Bridget.  She has grown so much.  Just to remind you of what she used to look like -



Here she is now. Bailey still likes to pick her up, which isn't easy. She's 6 months old and about 45-50 pounds now.



Bailey actually took this picture, but I love it, so I'm using it.



Here's Bridget running in our backyard.
She.  Loves.  To.  Run.


What do you do when you are tired from running? You cuddle up in a blanket made especially for you by Bailey.




And here's a good size comparison to our fireplace for you.



She is resting on her second dog bed.  Someone chewed up her first one already.



I originally told you in my first post about Bridget that she was a Newfoundland puppy.  Well, she wasn't growing as quickly as a Newfoundland should, so we had her DNA tested.  Turns out that she is mostly Lab, with parts Chow and Shetland sheepdog. 

Basically she's a mutt. 

But that's ok, we have gotten quite attached to her.



I didn't think she was really sleeping.



Here's her full body.  She often looks like a wolf to us.  Her fur is curly in areas and straight in others. 



And here's her Bridget smile. 

Bridget

It's only fitting that I follow my last post about the Dog Bowl 2013, with our own dog story.

I should start with the information that our most beloved cat, Twister, passed away in May.  We still miss him to this day.  If he were here he would be stretched out on top of my desk, occasionally knocking things off when he stretches in his sleep. 

We went a couple of months with a quiet, clean household, and then we found this announcement for this little cutie at our local shelter.  They had her listed as a male, but we had to go check her out.

After bribing Rominal with some electronics for the house, we have a new puppy.

Meet Bridget, our newest family member.



Bailey and I had researched dog breeds and we liked the way the Newfoundland dogs were described as mellow and great with kids.  Also, they aren't that active.  Perfect for us.

She and her 3 litter mates were found in a storm drain that had been blocked by huge rocks.  The puppies were in pretty bad shape when a good Samaritan heard their cries.  It took the fire department to hose out the rocks in order to get the puppies out.

In the picture above and below, she was about 8 1/2 weeks old and about 10.5 pounds.



When we first brought her home, she slept a lot.  I've always had a thing for pigs, so I love how she looks like a little pig here.



But after a week or so, she started to get more active.



As you can see, Bailey and her have bonded nicely.



We named her Bridget after Bailey's most favorite stuffed animal, seen below.  The pink Bridget has gone on all trips with us and slept with Bailey since she was very little.  Bridget has been Bailey's companion at all times, so it only seemed appropriate to name her after her most favorite item.



The pictures below were taken today.  I'm trying to chronicle her growth.  She currently weighs 16.8 pounds and is 11 weeks old.  If she is a full-blooded Newfie (which I don't think she is) she would be considered underweight.  The shelter had her identified as a Newfie/Lab mix, which would explain her current weight.







She loves to chase us outside.



And she really loves her new Frisbee.





We occasionally have indoor chases as well. 


She can almost catch Rominal!


Love those eyes!

2013 Dog Bowl

Hello.  How are you?  I'm good.  It's been a long time since I've posted, and much has gone on, but I thought I'd start with something fun that we recently did.



The Girls Scouts and I helped out at the 2013 Dog Bowl which was held in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. 

Basically the Cotton Bowl is turned into one big giant dog park.  The Girl Scout's role was to keep the kiddie pools and buckets filled with water. It turned into a full-time job, but it was fun. Here's two of my favorite men - Rominal and my brother David. They came along too.



The girls job was to keep kiddie pools and buckets filled with water for the dogs.



This turned out to be quite a job. Bailey clearly loved being around all of the dogs.



This little white dog went to every pool and scratched at the side of it - as though he would find a hidden bone. The other dog didn't seem to mind.



It was so neat to see all of the different dogs. We didn't see any fighting, just lots of running around.

This dog reminded me of the dog I grew up with, Tim.



What do we think of this dog?



Here's Bailey and David, loving on a nice dog.



How's this for a face?



And no one told this little dog how little he was. He chased the Frisbee all over the park.



While some dogs chased the water.



All over they chased the water.



Look at these faces.



And then there was the drool.



So much drool.



Lots, and lots of drool.   Ewwwww.



How cute is this?  This woman carried her dog out of the park - he clearly loved her.



It was neat to see a handicapped dog, doing quite well.



And another dog with three legs - who seemed to have a great time.



Can't leave out a picture of a well-dressed dog.



Overall it was a great day.