Marinated Grilled Chicken & Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole

This evening youngest son came for dinner. I marinated boneless chicken breasts (that I pounded with my meat mallet to an even thickness) in a simple marinade using the juice of 2 lemons, the zest of 1 lemon, a little over 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1-1/2 teaspoons of Greek Seasoning (Penzey's), 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and about 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary. I marinated the chicken in a gallon-size Ziploc bag for about 4 hours. Hubby grilled them for 3 to 4 minutes per side. While the chicken marinated, I made my Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole and steamed fresh broccoli with butter. It was a simple and delicious dinner. I have plenty of squash casserole left to serve as a side dish for at least one or two more dinners which will make for an easy weeknight meal or two later this week. I love it when I can just reheat a dish to pair with something else and make another meal with. I snapped a few photos of our dinner below as well as the recipe for the squash casserole. Enjoy!

Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole before going into the oven 

Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole (cooked)

Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole

Ingredients:
6 cups yellow squash, sliced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Paprika, optional
Dash cayenne pepper, optional
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup almond flour, divided
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk, half-n-half or cream
3 tablespoons sour cream, optional

Directions:

In a large non-stick skillet, saute yellow squash and onion in 2-3 tablespoons of butter (do not add water).  Stir-fry until tender (cover for a bit, if necessary, to help cook it more quickly); transfer cooked squash and onions to a medium mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, beat eggs, milk, sour cream and add salt, pepper, cayenne to taste; set aside. 

In a small bowl, mix 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese with 1/2 cup almond flour; toss with fork until well mixed.  Add the almond flour/cheese mixture to the bowl of squash; toss and combine well.  Pour beaten egg and milk mixture into the squash mixture and combine well.  

In a separate small bowl, place remaining 1/2 cup of almond flour and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  Cut butter into the almond flour (like you do when you make the topping for a fruit crisp) with a pastry/dough blender. Once butter is cut in and the mixture is crumbly, add remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese and cut into mixture until crumbly. Pour squash mixture into a lightly greased baking or casserole dish; top with the almond flour/butter/cheddar mixture and sprinkle with black pepper and paprika, if desired. Bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes, or until golden brown and done.

*Note:  This is an updated version of my original grain free version of the casserole that I experiment with every time I make it.  I think my updates make this delicious casserole even better. I made the following changes to the recipe because I realized I always added 6 cups of squash (the original said 5 to 6); I always end up adding in more cheddar cheese (the original had 2 cups; the new version has 3 cups); and I always sprinkle paprika on top, either before or after baking (paprika adds a beautiful deep golden color when used to dust the top of casseroles, etc. -- I think it's a grain-free cooks' best friend). You can add more or less cheese to the casserole if you prefer.  Most regular squash casseroles use 1 to 1-1/2  cups of milk along with the egg mixture.  I reduced the liquid to 1/4 cup of half-n-half in this grain free version because the almond flour doesn't absorb as much as the "52 Ritz crackers" that are in the original traditional recipe.