Two of my great loves are shopping at thrift stores and trying out vintage recipes, so any time I get to combine the two hobbies it’s a win in my book. Recently, I came upon the motherlode: a pile of vintage cookbooks on sale for 49 cents each at a local thrift store. Needless to say, I bought them all, then set to work bookmarking recipes I wanted to try.

Around the same time, another of my favorite occurrences happened: A friend texted me asking, “Do you want any fresh vegetables? It’s squash and collard greens.” Her husband had harvested some veggies from their garden and I was all too happy to be the beneficiary of the bounty. “Oooh,” I replied, “yes, please!”

That evening, I flipped through the pages of the 1985 South Carolina First Lady’s Cookbook: Palmetto Traditionsa spiral-bound recipe book complete with a forward written by Ann “Tunky” Riley, a former SC first lady. Riley’s note explained the cookbook was an annual tradition benefitting the American Cancer Society. “This year’s First Lady’s Cookbook pays special tribute to … the gracious hospitality and delicious cooking that have graced South Carolina tables for generations,” Riley wrote.

As I flipped through the vegetable section, looking for things to do to put the generous bag of veggies in my refrigerator to good use, I found a recipe titled Squash Casserole. The woman who shared the recipe, Gae Cavanagh of Jacksonville, Florida, made it sound simple, and I decided to give the vintage casserole recipe a try.

How to Make Squash Casserole

The ingredients for Squash Casserole are as simple as its name:

• 2 pounds (about 6 cups) of yellow summer squash, thinly sliced


• 1 onion, chopped


• 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup


• 1 cup of sour cream


• 1 cup of shredded carrots


• 1 8-ounce package of herb-seasoned stuffing mix


• ½ cup of butter or margarine, melted

To make Squash Casserole, cook the sliced squash and chopped onion in salted, boiling water for five minutes, then drain. Combine condensed soup and sour cream in a large mixing bowl, then add in the shredded carrot. Next, fold in the drained, cooked squash and onion mixture and stir until combined.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the box of stuffing mix and melted butter and stir. Spread half of the stuffing mixture in the bottom of an 8-by-12-inch baking pan, cover it with the entire squash mixture, and top with the remaining stuffing mix. Bake the casserole at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, then serve.

I was excited to try this vintage recipe, especially since my family was hosting a holiday dinner that weekend. After all, the recipe ticked all of my holiday side dish boxes: It’s creamy, it has stuffing and it counts as a vegetable, even if only loosely.

The casserole was wildly easy to assemble, and tasted great. The creamy yellow squash was tender and comforting, and the bites of crisp, buttery stuffing were a true delight. Several people at my dinner table went back for seconds, and one even pointed out that, with its bright yellow and orange coloring, the casserole was the perfect colors for a Thanksgiving dish.

What’s more, the casserole could be made with frozen squash in a pinch or with zucchini instead. And, you could change up the flavors by doing things like switching to cream of mushroom soup or adding some pre-cooked, chopped bacon for a bit more savoriness and a touch of protein.

The vintage casserole was a perfect addition to my holiday menu and was a good contrast to our other typical vegetable sides, like Brussels sprouts, green beans or a salad. And, because squash is packed with lots of beneficial nutrients, it’s a veggie I feel great about adding into the mix.

In my discovery of Squash Casserole, my 49-cent edition of the 1985 South Carolina First Lady’s Cookbook more than paid for itself. Any time I find a vegetable recipe my entire family enjoys, that’s just as much of a win for me as thrifted cookbooks and a free bag of garden-fresh veggies.