Cooking web notes

Baked Butternut Squash

I’m starting to see fall all around ~ leaves are beginning to change color and drop off the trees, the air is crisp, squirrels are gathering extra food for the winter, pumpkins and mums abound at the food markets and squash is plentiful. 

We love squash and I’m having visions of it on our dinner table quite often in the coming months.  Actually, this reminds me of pumpkin pie which Bill loves.  Years ago, his mom baked a squash pie and tried to deftly pass it off as pumpkin pie.  Bill took a couple of bites of the “pumpkin” pie and thought it tasted a little different and then was really suspicious when Mom asked, “How did you like the pie?”  Bill told her it was OK, “why are you asking?”  Mom said, “Because it’s squash pie; I knew you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between squash and pumpkin!”  Bill insisted, “Yes, I can” and Mom was not a happy mom! 

This is the perfect time of the year to bake squash.  Winter squash is so easy and it really only requires paring and cutting it into cubes or in half, adding a little seasoning and baking.  We love acorn squash and particularly butternut squash this time of year. 

This is a versatile recipe ~ use whichever spice you like; cloves, nutmeg, mustard seeds, coriander or ginger.  I use Splenda for dishes such as this when a recipe calls for sugar.  You can use regular brown sugar and substitute olive oil for the butter.

 

Baked Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, pared and cut into 1” cubes

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/3 cup Splenda brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Method:

Place squash in a 2-quart casserole coated with nonstick cooking spray.

Sprinkle with the spices and brown sugar.

Drizzle melted butter and lemon juice over the top.

Bake uncovered in 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes until fork tender.

It’s delicious!!!

Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and the 4 cookbooks she's giving away!

This entry was posted on Friday, September 30, 2011 at 7:04 AM and is filed under Side Dish, Squash, Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.