Our Veggie Kitchen

I used to live in rural Washington, about an hour from my sister and her pumpkin farm. Each year, we would make an autumn trip to load up on pumpkins and squash. I would pick out a couple gigantic Hubbard or Marblehead squash, skin them, prep them and freeze them for year-round squash casserole. It was a tradition and it was delicious. I finally got around to veganizing that squash casserole, which had cream of chicken soup, sour cream and tons of butter.



Winter Squash Casserole
8 cups winter squash, about 1/2 a hubbard, maybe a whole butternut
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Creamy Mushroom Soup (see note)
1 tbs cornstarch
1 cup Tofutti sour cream
1 cup shredded carrot
8 oz stuffing cubes, divided.
1/4 cup Earth Balance Margarine, melted.

Cut the skin off of the squash, split and remove the seeds. Cut into large, manageable pieces. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the meat of the squash into long ribbons. Alternately, you can slice the squash with a knife, but the texture is better the thinner you can get the slices.

Combine the squash and onion in a large saute pan and simmer in about a cup of water until the squash is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and return to the pan or another bowl. Mix together the soup, cornstarch, salt and sour cream. Gently fold into the squash.

Put 1/2 of stuffing cubes on the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole. Pour the squash mixture into the casserole. Toss the remaining cubes with the melted margarine and spread across the top of the squash. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

Note: I've used creamy mushroom soup that I had made previously and froze. The key is to use a thick soup, thickened a bit more with cornstarch. You could use any creamy soup, gravy or even a flavorful broth. Just remember to add cornstarch to thicken the liquid.

8 Servings: 292 cal (12g fat, 39g carbs, 8g protein)