Granny's Squash Casserole

In case I haven't mentioned this, I have eaten many a fried vegetable in my 28-year lifespan. When I spent summers at my grandmother's house as a kid, fresh yellow squash, green tomatoes, and fresh green beans were AMAZING. It got to the point that my grandmother stopped fixing main dishes because my cousin and I would skip the meat and go straight for the stick-to-your ribs-style veggies. Yum... side dishes....

Of course, I didn't think I liked squash at first.... until I had Granny's squash casserole. Squash casserole is not baked, unlike most dishes with the word "casserole" in the name; it is a fried mixture of chopped yellow summer squash (don't bother with substituting zucchini -- the taste is just enough different to throw the whole dish off -- believe me, I've tried), chopped onions, and chopped potatoes coated in cornmeal and fried. The fried potatoes are like a gateway food for kids who don't like real vegetables -- or at least they were for me. After eating squash casserole a few times, I stopped picking around the squash and just downed the whole dish (minus the plate, of course).

Here's the recipe:

Squash Casserole

1 medium yellow summer squash per 2 people, chopped (If you use frozen squash, be sure that it is thawed completely so that you don't have ice crystals to contend with. Your mixture will be a bit more moist and potentially gooey, but that has its own charms, too.)
1 medium russet potato per 2 people, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 yellow or white onion, chopped
cornmeal (I always guess on this; I'll say half a cup to start)
salt and pepper to taste (personally, I like this dish to be salty)
cooking oil, enough to have maybe a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of oil in your skillet

1. Mix cut up vegetables with cornmeal. The veggies should be lightly coated with cornmeal -- not like a breading, but more of a cross between dusted and a little gritty; the measurements above are an estimate, so be prepared to add a bit more cornmeal if I'm way off with the above measurements. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Personally, I start with a pinch of salt and pepper here and adjust again after the food is cooked.)

2. Heat the oil in the skillet. Make sure that the oil is hot (about the same temp as frying French fries, for example).
3. Once the oil is hot, cook the veggie mixture in a single layer. Allow the veggies to cook long enough to lightly brown on one side, then flip to brown on the opposite side. Keep cooking the veggies until the potatoes are soft (think French fry consistency here) and the onions are translucent. Be careful not to burn the squash -- lower the heat on the eye of the stove if need be.
4. Remove from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Squash casserole by definition is a limp mess. That's part of how you know it's good. :-)

** If you have Greek seasoning, it's pretty good in this dish as a substitute for salt and pepper.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy this. The hardest part for me is getting the veggies to brown properly without burning, so if you find yourself staring at the food wondering what's wrong with it, don't worry -- you're not alone.

This dish pairs well with the summer veggies mentioned above, fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, ham, or most anything that goes well with fried potatoes. Seriously, potatoes are a gateway food.