Hearty menus increase as the thermometer reading decreases, but one meal a day — whatever time of year — needs its vegetables, so try squash.

There must be a dozen or more recipes called “Squash Casserole,” and you will like this one. One of the good things about this vegetable is that local squash are available for a long period in the summer — but the days of autumn and frost put an end to local squash. Because of our farming friends in warmer winter climates, it is usually in the supermarket throughout the year.

The crook neck yellow summer squash is a prolific producer, and there is the running joke of home gardeners during the summer trying to give squash to their neighbors. After a while — whether they are cooked or canned, frozen or pickled — one can use only so many squash.

Squash is also a dieter’s friend; a half cup is only 15 calories.

Whether you get the squash from the supermarket, a local grower, your own garden, your freezer, or your enthusiastic gardening neighbor during the summer, you will like this recipe from Nannie Mae Pratt. It makes a large dish for 10-12 servings — good for a family or church gathering.

Nannie Mae and her husband, Bonner, have been members of Overbrook Baptist Church in Greenville for 18 years or so. Organized in 1950, Overbrook is part of the Greenville Baptist Association and has a current active membership of around 225. It has a Sunday school, worship service, WMU and youth groups, including preschool and children. This year’s VBS was quite a successful one. Rev. Dale Sutton has served the church as pastor for 12 years.

Nannie Mae retired from a longtime teaching career at Lake Forest Elementary, mostly with second graders. The school was located about a block from her house in Greenville, and for many years (with agreeable weather) she could walk to school. Later, a new school was built not much farther away.

This summer she and her husband celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary by going out for a quiet dinner. Before and since their retirement, the couple has traveled to 30 countries and has been to Europe three times.

As most teachers, Nannie Mae enjoys reading. Over the years, she has enjoyed gardening but doesn’t do that so much now, and Bonner has become the family gardener. Nannie Mae and Bonner attend worship service and Sunday school regularly, where Anna Marie Robertson teaches the class Nannie Mae attends.

When you make this recipe, you may want to decrease the amount of stuffing mix, both in the dish and as the topping. You may also want to decrease the baking time to about 20 minutes. At 30 minutes, my dish was too brown on top — but good!

We thank Nannie Mae for sharing the recipe with us, both because it is a new way to use squash and because it will serve a large number. If the dish is too large, the ingredients can be easily decreased by half, and you and your family/guests will still have plenty to enjoy for … Sunday Dinner.

Squash Casserole
4 cups cooked yellow squash
2 carrots, finely grated
1 onion, minced
1 cup sour cream
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 10 3/4-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 small package Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cooked squash, carrots, onion, soup, cheese, eggs and sour cream in a large bowl.

Put stuffing mix into a large bowl; melt butter or margarine and stir into the stuffing mix. Put half the stuffing-butter mixture into the squash mixture and mix well.

Put squash mixture into a large baking dish. Spread remaining stuffing-butter mixture evenly on top.

Bake for 30 minutes. (Check the dish frequently; it may need less than 30 minutes to brown evenly.)

Note: You may not need all the stuffing mix.

Have a recipe? Send it to: sundaydinner@baptistcourier.com