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Wonderful and Delicious
Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: May 2023
The flavor-filled ingredients in Wendy King’s Stuffed Squash Recipe are bursting forth in gardens all over this curl of the Southern Appalachians.
Wendy King
This Stuffed Squash Recipe, a favorite of Wendy King, owner of Cashiers’ The Look Boutique, makes excellent use of the Southern garden as it transitions to spring and summer.
With its filling of green pepper, tomato, fresh basil, cheese, and bacon, the recipe dresses up the humble yellow crookneck squash, for a dish that’s a celebration of the sweet, zesty, flavors of the season.
Though the ingredients may be familiar, the results are nothing less than explosive. Something wonderful and delicious happens when the ingredients are piled into the scooped-out squash shell, and butter and bacon are overlapped atop the filling before its roasted. The payoff, as you will discover, is big!
King tells me she’s been making the recipe for nearly 20 years.
“It came from a 2000 edition of the Southern Living Cookbook,” she says. “I have collected many over the years, but this is one of my favorites. The recipe presents really well and looks good on the plate. It’s a fantastic family and guest favorite.”
Regularly served at family gatherings, King says it’s the dish most sought after by her daughter, and more recently by her 12-year-old grandson. (She and husband Robb also have two sons and a total of five grandchildren.) “Everyone loves it – they’re forever fighting for the last crumbs. There are never any leftovers.”
The recipe can be assembled completely in advance and finished in the oven just before serving, for a quick and easy side dish or a light main course. For best results, King advises using medium squash.
Wendy King’s
Garden-Stuffed Yellow Squash
Yield: Six servings.
Ingredients
6 medium-sized yellow squash
1 cup chopped onion.
1 cup chopped tomato.
½ cup finely chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil, snipped (or more as to taste)
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash of freshly ground pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese.
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 slices bacon cooked and crumbled.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash squash thoroughly. Cover the squash with water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 9 minutes or until squash is tender but firm. Drain and let cool slightly.
3. Cut squash in half lengthwise, remove and discard seeds, leaving a firm shell.
4. Combine onion, tomato, green pepper, basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir in cheese.
5. Place squash shells in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Spoon vegetable mixture into shells. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with basil and bacon
6. Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
