Bell Pepper and Squash Casserole

3 pounds yellow summer squash, sliced
3 red bell peppers, sliced into 1 x 1/2 inch strips
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt, divided
4 cups shredded white Cheddar cheese, divided
3 cups crushed saltine crackers, divided
1 16 ounce container sour cream
1 large egg lightly beaten
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp ground black pepper
5 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 13x9 baking dish.  In a large stockpot, combine squash, bell peppers, onion, garlic and 1 tbsp salt; add water to cover.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine squash mixture, 3 cups cheese, 2 cups crushed crackers, sour cream, egg, thyme, pepper and remaining 1 tsp salt.  Spoon into prepared baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

In a small bowl, stir together melted butter and remaining 1 cup crushed crackers; sprinkle over casserole.  Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly, serve immediately.

Don't make this recipe if you are in a hurry!  It takes time to prepare all the veggies before you even get started mixing everything together.  It calls for yellow squash but I like to mix it up a bit so I used half yellow squash and half zucchini.  It makes it more colorful that way.  "Eat the rainbow" so the health nuts say, so adding in the green blended well with the yellow and red (peppers).  Plus you know what Rachel Ray says, "You eat with your eyes first".

This recipe is Paula Deen's, the diabetic queen, so I tried to make it a little more healthy by using low fat sour cream and multi grain crackers instead of plain salted saltines.  It makes a huge amount so it's good if you are entertaining a crowd.  Gary and I both liked it.  I love any kind of squash so this was basically that, a squash casserole only with a lot of added extra flavors like the red peppers, cheddar cheese and thyme.  It's good, I would make it again.