Eating Well did an entire spread on squash this last issue, but these two caught my eye. I've had the cakes and like them, and a friend had the soup and said it was good. ________________________________________ Golden Summer Squash & Corn Soup 1 T extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium shallot, chopped 2 medium summer squash (about a pound) 3 t chopped fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, etc.) 14 ounces low sodium chicken broth 1/4 t salt 1 c corn 1/2 c feta cheese 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, stirring, 1 minute. Add squash and 1 t herbs, stirring occasionally, until squash softens (about 3-5 minutes). 2. Add broth and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmering until squash is mostly translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer to blender, use stick blender, etc. blend until smooth. Return soup to pan and stir in corn. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until corn is tender, 3-5 more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice. Garnish with 2 teaspoons herbs and feta. ________________________________________ Parmesan-Squash Cakes 1 large egg 2/3 cup finely chopped **shallots 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 2 cups shredded seeded summer squash (2-3 medium, about 1 pound; see Tip) 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 2. Beat egg in a large bowl. Stir in shallots, parsley, salt and pepper. Place shredded squash in the center of a clean kitchen towel; gather up the ends and twist to squeeze out any liquid. Add the squash and cheese to the bowl; stir to combine. 3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pack a 1/3-cup measuring cup with the squash mixture and unmold it into the pan; gently pat it down to form a 3-inch cake. Repeat, making 4 squash cakes. Cook until browned and crispy on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently turn the cakes over and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve immediately. NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 130 calories; 8 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono); 62 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 1 g fiber; 322 mg sodium; 406 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (35% daily value), Calcium & Vitamin A (15% dv). 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 lean meat, 1/2 fat TIP: Tip: To remove the seeds from summer squash, cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. To shred the squash, use the large-holed side of a **doesn't work with a stronger onion. Here is a link that might be useful: Eating Well squash recipe collection

Terry, you remind me of myself when I was first married. My mother did not want anyone in her kitchen except to clean up or to make an occasional batch of cookies, so I didn't know much. Poor DH ate so many flops! Looking back, I would give you several pieces of advice. The first is that you invest in some tools. A portable mixer, a food processor, a nice marble rolling pin, some silicone mats, some nice heavy cookware (I use cast iron skillets and a dutch oven. For my saucepans, I use nice heavy ones that I bought at a flea market. For bakeware, I like those insulated pans.), measuring cups and spoons, and a good set of knives. The mixer can be an inexpensive one. It needs to be lightweight enough that you can bring it to the stove and use it to mash potatoes and make 7-minute frosting, if you want to someday. I had a big MixMaster for years, but I found it too cumbersome and heavy. The food processor can be an inexpensive one, too, but get one that has a big bowl if you can. I use a Cuisinart. It was killer expensive and if I had it to do over again I would've bought something else, due to the fact that once in awhile the blade gets jammed down onto the bowl and it has to be shipped to get it repaired, and they take their sweet time. I have Cutco knives, simply because I was suckered in when I was 18 and not very consumer-savvy (something ELSE I had to learn on my own!). They have served me well for 40 years, but I've broken a couple things and the manufacturer will not make good on the "Lifetime Guarantee" because I lost the certificate somewhere along life's way. There are lots of brands of knives that are still good that don't cost as much. They should feel balanced in your hand when you grip the handle in a cutting position. I use my food processor a lot. I make my own chopped and shredded vegetables, "Shake'n'Bake, graham cracker crumbs,and lots of other things. When a recipe calls for the sugar, eggs and fat to be creamed together, I just drop them all in and turn on the motor. So also when the flour and fat needs to be "mixed till the mixture resembles corn meal". I find I hardly ever use my blender unless I'm making smoothies, and I bet I could make them in the food processor, too. I like wire whisks for when I make gravy, puddings, pie fillings. Christmas is coming up, maybe you can put in a request to Santa. I almost forgot, I use my crockpot a lot, too, and it's one I bought at a thrift shop. I have a microwave I bought at WMT on sale, but mostly I use it for heating up things, melting butter and thawing frozen things, and baking potatoes. I think I could probably do without it easier than some of the other tools I have listed here. The second piece of advice is that you learn certain skills, such as how to cut up a chicken and how to roll out a pie crust. Yes, you can buy cut up chicken and rolled-out pie crust. If you want to cook for your family in order to cut your grocery bills, you'll notice these things are more expensive. The third piece of advice is that you start with casseroles. There are lots of variations, each calling for a pasta, rice or potato ingredient, a meat ingredient, one or more vegetable ingredients, and usually something that binds them together, like tomato sauce or canned soup. Men and kids usually love a good casserole. If you go to Allrecipes.com and do a search on "casseroles", it will return any number of dishes. These are all rated and critiqued, and these are worth reading. No, I'm not connected to Allrecipes in any way, and there are other sites where you can do the same thing, it's just that it's my "Go to" site usually. They even have a section of "How-To Videos". Here's something I make and use a lot. I think I got it off Allrecipes.com. You can use it on chicken, fish, pork cutlets. Pop these in the oven, make a nice salad and bake some potatoes in the microwave: Shake n Bake an 18 oz box of cornflakes yields about 5 cups of fine crumbs. I mix this recipe up and keep it in a quart canning jar in the refrigerator. When I'm ready to use it, I put only about 1/4 cup on a plate and dredge the meat in it. You can always add a little more to the plate if you need to, but this way you don't waste, because you need to throw out whatever comes in contact with raw meat that doesn't get baked. 3-1/2 cups corn flake crumbs 1/4 C all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons onion powder Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Prepare chicken following the same technique as described on the box of the original mix using 2 1/2 lb. of bone-in chicken (6 to 8 pieces, with or without skin) or 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves Preheat your oven to 400º, then moisten the chicken with water. Use a large plastic bag for the coating and use the same steps as described on the original package: "Shake moistened chicken, 1 to 2 pieces at a time, in shaker bag with coating mixture. Discard any remaining mixture and bag. Bake at 400º in ungreased or foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan until cooked through --BONE-IN: 45 minutes/BONELESS: 20 minutes" Sorry this is so long! --Ilene

An extra large egg has about 4T of content and a large egg has about 3 1/2 so if you use 5 large eggs you'll be over by 1 1/2 T. You could stir up the eggs in a measuring cup and then dip out the excess if you want to be exact. Or you can just use the 5. With the cake mix I doubt it makes that much difference. Go with whatever is most comfortable. You can use a yellow cake. It will be less lemon-y. Or you could use the optional lemon extract for the lemon boost. Carol

I have to agree. It was my mistake, and I apologize (as with that darn chicken & stuffing recipe LOL). I tend to forget how some people use these forums as a "beginning cooking course" or whatever. I guess that I just took it for granted that everyone would know what I meant by the "gest" of the recipe. I'm doing a family heirloom cookbook for tried and true recipes, and some of the recipes have REALLY quick cooking directions. I'm "detailing" the directions so that my daughter (now 15) and young "nieces-in-law" (if that's even a word! LOL) will know who to make it. I'll really try to make sure my directions are a little more clearer next time I post a recipe. Heck.. doesn't matter how long one has cooked, there's always something to learn! LOL