Sunday was week 4 of Emily’s Rookie Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes. But, because I don’t follow rules well, I decided to use my abundance of butternut squash instead. I picked 32 of them (I’m not exaggerating) and I’ve heard that you can use it in much the same way one uses sweet potatoes.
So, while it doesn’t really fit the qualifications and I’m two days late, go check out Emily’s yum yam balls.
I tried two butternut squash recipes, and because I’m not a food photographer, the photos didn’t turn out great. But, I can’t have a post without a photo, so I hope you’ll overlook it. 😉
Butternut squash soup in the slow cooker
via Betty Crocker
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 butternut squash (2 lb), peeled, cubed
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
2. In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix onion and remaining ingredients except cream cheese.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours. (I cooked for 4 hours on high and it was perfect.)
4. In blender or food processor, place one-third to one-half of mixture at a time. Cover; blend on high speed until smooth. Return mixture to slow cooker. (I could easily get it mixed with just a wire whisk. It was plenty smooth for me and required less work, dishes and mess.)
5. Stir in cream cheese. Cover; cook on Low heat setting about 30 minutes longer or until cheese is melted, stirring with wire whisk until smooth.
Review:
I really expected to dislike this. Like, I made another meal for Ryan and I at the same time because I wasn’t expecting much. I mean, it’s really just squash – and how can squash make a good soup? But, it was delicious. The flavor was amazing before I even put cream cheese in it. And, you should know that I have a crush on anything with cream cheese. So, that just made it perfect. I’d definitely make this again. And, it’s so simple that you can make it in the Crock Pot.
Butternut squash fries
via Things that make you go mmmmmm
1 butternut squash, sliced as uniformly as possible
olive oil spray
salt
pepper
chili powder
1. Par-boil the butternut squash for a couple of minutes, then plunge in ice water. Drain and pat dry.
2. Spray squash slices with olive oil cooking spray, and toss with salt, pepper, and chili powder, to taste.
3. Spread out on a foil-lined sheet pan, and bake at 425 deg F for about 30 min, flipping half-way through. You will want to watch these carefully to determine done-ness, it depends on how long you boiled them for and how thick you cut them. Remove them when the edges start to brown.
Review:
These have awesome flavor and definitely taste as good as sweet potato fries – even Ryan ate a bunch of them with no complaints. However, the texture is softer, so I need to experiment more because we like our fries more crunchy.
I also took the opportunity to toast the squash seeds with butter and salt. They were just as delicious as pumpkin seeds. Who knew? (No pictures of this because my brother ate them too quickly.) But you should make them.
I also asked my Facebook friends for great butternut squash recipes, and I’m excited to try them all.
Do you have any great butternut squash recipes?
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Emily says
Oh yummmmm.
Amanda Sevall says
Okay, so this article for “Pumpkin, Butternut, Acorn and Spaghetti Squash Recipes”… and I remembered your search for butternut squash recipes… so here is a link. 🙂
http://www.wholeliving.com/photogallery/pumpkin-recipes
Hope it helps!
pozypeacock says
Really, you can eat squash seeds? I have to try this since I LOVE pumpkins seeds.
I have only cooked it once and loved it tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper then roasted in the oven.
Leigh says
I’m too picky to eat squash but I’m impressed by your harvest.
Amanda Sevall says
Yum!!!! I don’t have any recipes for butternut squash other than soup. These both look yummy!! 🙂
Jenny @ Anything Pretty says
Look at you finding so many great recipes! I don’t have any squash growing in the garden like you so I won’t be able to try them out. Is the plan to use all 32?
Liz @ It's Great To Be Home says
I am so lazy in the kitchen that I will probably never make these recipes but they look DELICIOUS!!!! I’ll just live vicariously through you and your yummy dinners. 🙂
Rita/Fighting Off Frumpy says
No – but I made a really delicious (albeit experimental) pumpkin gratin tonight that I bet would be great with squash! I don’t have an exact recipe because it’s kinda something I put together from a few different recipes, but here it is in essence:
Cut up some fresh pumpkin (I’d say about four or five cups) and sautee it in butter until it’s tender, then puree it in a food processor along with a small onion. Whisk in about three Tablespoons of heavy cream (I actually used whole milk and it was fine, but I’d like to try heavy cream next time), about 1/2 – 3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese, and three eggs. Spice it up with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and nutmeg to taste. (I whipped it up a little with the whisk, but I don’t know that it was necessary, hehe.) Pour the mixture into a buttered dish and bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes; the last fifteen minutes or so, sprinkle the top with some breadcrumbs (I used Panko crumbs that I’d mixed with some melted butter) and Parmesan cheese (optional).
It was delish! Even my kids devoured it!