My grandfather brought me five large yellow squash from his garden this weekend, and because I had no idea what to do with them I left them in the bag and have already let two get moldy. Any suggestions on what to do with the others? I'm full of questions... Never cooked a squash before.

My grandmother said to slice them up with onions and saute with olive oil - should I season them? Cook until tender? Can I use spray instead of oil?

My grandfather said to slice them and bake on a cookie sheet - how long, at what temp, should I season?

What does it mean when I see people say that they 'roast' veggies?

Can I do them on the Foreman grill?

Can I slice them and put the slices in baggies and freeze?

Granddaddy has a huge garden - I really need to get down there more and take advantage of the veggies...

I treat them and zucchini pretty interchangeably.

Roast veggies either means slicing them or cubing and putting on a cookie sheet (spray prior) or other oven pan and cook at 400 for 20-30 minutes, I think. You can kind of 'stir' them or flip them over about 10 minutes in.

You can put them on the foreman grill as well, just slice them and put them on a grill.

+1

Any way you use zucchini, you can use yellow squash. I'll slice them up and put them in spaghetti sauce, saute with onions and zucchini, roast (with balsamic vinegar, evoo, and rosemary/italian seasoning in 425 oven for 20-40 minutes depending on thickness and what else is in with them), or drop into a hearty vegetable soup.

I've roasted yellow squash with zucchini (sometimes zucchini & eggplant) in the oven at the temps mentioned above. When I roast in the oven I cut into rounds and have done it with just Pam spray and sprinkling herbs on top. I like thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder. I also have a grinder that has "Pizza & pasta seasonings and sea salt" that I love to grind on them. I like things salty.

I also love to grill all the aforementioned veggies on the outside grill. I slice each veggie lenth-wise somewhere between 1/8-1/4" thick. I find I need a little more "grease" on the grill than in the oven and I love to use light italian dressing. EVOO or a combo of OO/vinegar works too. I make sure the side I put down has dressing on it, using a pastry brush to brush the dressing around, then once each slice is down brush more dressing on the side that's facing up. I close the grill and let that side cook for a few minutes (maybe 5 - the thinner the slices the less time), then flip, cook a few more minutes, and viola. Very easy. My BF and I grill different meats all the time so this is a way to get a side dish done on the grill too.

If you want to freeze them, I think you'd need to blanch them first. Here's a web site with some instructions (and even pictures!): http://www.pickyourown.org/freezing_summer_squash.htm

One of my favorite foods growing up was sauteed tomatoes, yellow squash, and green bell peppers, in a little olive oil. The red, yellow, and green looks so bright and colorful together. You could use canned tomatoes if you wanted (I'd use ones that are whole or in big pieces, and drain them). It's really good with parmesan cheese on top!

Last week I bought a yellow squash and a zucchini. I used half of each in a pasta dish with tomato sauce. I used the rest in taco filling - I cooked ground turkey, mixed with taco seasoning and black beans, then added sauteed yellow squash, zucchini, onions, and peppers.

I had yellow squash on Monday. I just sliced them into half moon pieces and sauted them over medium heat in a pan coated with cooking spray. Seasoned them with a bit of salt and a healthy amount of black pepper.

As for cooking time I think it just depends on what you like. I like most veggies slightly crunchy, but squash I like soft and caramalized.

As a kid my grandmom sauted them with cabbage and onions, which was really good too.

Thanks guys!

He gave me some green peppers too, don't know what kind but I know he makes pepper sauce with them. I could slice one of those up in there, too. Might try the tomato in there, too. I just bought some last night... Hmm.

I like to saute squash on the stove with some evoo, garlic, and sundried tomotoes. I used to not like squash, but this combo got me to love it and try it in many new mays. I have also cut it into thin strips, blached it in boiling water for a minute, them sauted it, and used it like a bed of spaghetti. I used a homemade tomato sauce and it was almost as good as the real thing. Experiment and you will find many ways you can use them.

Yum! Yellow squash is one of my favorites!!!

I love it diced (or matchstick) and raw in salads. Delicious, and it's a variance in texture without many calories.

I like to roast them in 1 inch cubes. I put them in a big bowl, drizzle oil, and mix it up with my hands. Its the best way I've found to coat them all evenly and without too much oil. It's easy to use too much oil - but necessary to use enough if you want good flavor and texture. The only times I haven't liked a roasted veggie is when I didn't use enough oil. Also, don't cram pack your pan when you roast or all of the natural juices will just make steam and give you a less desirable texture. When done, I crack a little sea salt on them, and sometimes drizzle with balsamic.

I like them sauteed with onions and cornmeal with S&P. Just sprinkle a couple of tablespoons in the pan after it's cooked about half way- use too much and it will soak up the cooking spray. It mimics fried squash with a lot less calories.

It's also good in omelets and quiche!

I like it more ways, but none of them are remotely close to healthy.

Oh yeah - if roasting veggies is new to you, try roasting several at once. I usually roast 3 at once, divided in to thirds on the baking sheet. I don't mix them up in case one cooks faster than expected and I can take it out easily. I usually do squash or zucchini, plus onions and eggplant. Onions tend to take a little longer than the others, so I put them in first. Right now 'real' vidalia onions are coming out and they are SO GOOD roasted.

Ratatouille!

Grilled outside over charcoal, and added to a sandwich

How about steaming the squash? Slice maybe 1/2" thick, boil an inch of water, throw the squash in and continue to boil with a lid on. Done in 7 min or so.

As for the green pepper: cut in small pieces to go on salad, or slice into sticks and eat plain. Or, grill: cut into large pieces, put a little olive oil on them, throw on the hot grill, move around every 5 min until they are wilty and charred.

That is my absolute favorite

They are heavenly grilled or roasted in the oven. They are fabulous sauteed in a pan with salt and pepper and some onions. Oh, they carmelize and are so sweet. And the inside with the seeds gets a little mushy while the outside stays firm. YUM!!

ENJOY!

I like to dice it into really small pieces and saute a bit, then scramble egg beaters with it. It all meshes together so you get what looks like a whole bunch of scrambled eggs, and tastes even better, I think.

A friend of mine likes to slice them and eat them raw with dip. I haven't tried that yet.