IDA’S PIMENTO SQUASH CASSEROLE

KRISTI HANCOCK (Mount Juliet, Tennessee) shares, “My grandmother—MARTHA WILLIAMS WHITLEY (Nashville, Tennessee)—has the sweetest, old-fashioned Southern accent. She truly sounds like a modern-day Scarlett O’Hara. Every time I see her, the first thing that comes out of her mouth is ‘Well, hi, dahlin.’ My sister and I used to love going over to her house because we knew we would get to play dress up. We each had our own bag of clothes to play with, and she would save us her little samples of Avon lipstick to ‘try.’ While Granny Martha is an excellent cook, my most favorite memory growing up was the little bowls of colored Jell-O with whipped cream that she’d have waiting for my sister and me whenever she knew we were coming for a visit.” Granny Martha makes this casserole that’s become a family favorite. The recipe was handed down from her mother, Kristi’s, great-great-grandmother, Ida Hite Williams.

2 cups yellow summer squash, cooked

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (10.75) can cream of chicken soup

2 medium carrots, grated

1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Salt and black pepper to taste

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 (14 ounce) package herb seasoned stuffing mix, divided

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2 In a large saucepan boil the squash and onion until tender. Drain and mash with a fork. Add the soup, carrots, pimentos, and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3 In a 9 × 13-inch casserole dish, melt the butter in the oven. Remove from the oven and stir half of the stuffing into the melted butter to line the bottom of the casserole dish. Spoon the squash mixture on top of the buttered stuffing. Cover the top with the remaining stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated well through.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS.