Recipe of the Week - Rich Squash Casserole

Hello friends! Here's my recipe of the week, courtesy of Family Circle Magazine. I got to use my crock pot!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1-1/4 teaspoons dried basil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package (8 ounces) sliced mushrooms
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 large summer squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 large zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick

See that block of cheese? That's $10 worth of cheese. I found that to be absurd, but I went with it. I popped a piece in my mouth to see what all the fuss was about, and wow, that's some tasty cheese. Although once it was all melted in the recipe, I couldn't taste its special-ness. I probably could have used regular swiss and gotten the same result.

Recipe

1. Stir together Gruyère, ricotta, bread crumbs, cornstarch, basil, 3/4 teaspoon of the thyme and 1/2 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper; set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 teaspoon thyme and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover; cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Photographed in their pre-cooked state. Oh, and I used Jennifer's "fan" tip when chopping the onion. Worked like a charm!)

3. Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Layer 1/3 of the squash in bottom. Add 1 cup mushroom mixture over squash; sprinkle 2/3 cup ricotta mixture on top. Layer with another 1/3 of squash, the rest of the mushrooms and another 2/3 cup of ricotta mixture. Place remaining squash and ricotta mixture on top. (It's ready to go! It's like a little crock pot veggie lasagna!)

4. Cover; cook for 2 hours on HIGH or 4 hours on LOW. Serve immediately.

I did the two hours on high and then spooned some into a little bowl for my dinner. It's pretty tasty, and my favorite part is that it keeps/reheats well, so I've been enjoying it all week. Also, it uses pretty standard ingredients, the only thing I had to buy was the cheese and the veggies.

I'm on the fence about keeping this recipe in my recipe book. I want my collection to be populated with things that are remarkably delicious, things that will become my "trademark" recipes, if you will. This recipe wasn't out-of-this-world, but it's so darn practical with the reheating. Hm...the jury is still out on this one...but for now, the recipe is spared from the garbage can. And I still have one serving left in my fridge!