(Ha, ha, ha! The title is one that Jeff threw out when I asked,"What should I title my post?" and we had a good laugh over it so I decided to go ahead and use it.)
Anywho, we brought home several butternut squash from Jeff's parents after the wedding festivities a couple of weeks ago and I have had a wonderful time finding ways to use them. Who ever knew that cooking with squash could be so fun and yummy?!
Anywho, we brought home several butternut squash from Jeff's parents after the wedding festivities a couple of weeks ago and I have had a wonderful time finding ways to use them. Who ever knew that cooking with squash could be so fun and yummy?!
The first squash I used to make baby food. I have been making my own baby food for Emily, and it is very satisfying and easy. I just cook up a bunch of sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, or whatever vegetable I want to add to her repertoire of food. Then I puree it in our blender, adding some water if needed to get the consistency I like. Then I pour it into ice cube trays. I store them in freezer bags after they're completely frozen. When it's time to feed her I just thaw 3 or 4 cubes in the microwave and viola! She loves her food and I love looking in the freezer at all the pretty colored bags of frozen fruits and veggies. Right now she has squash, carrots, green beans, and pears. (BTW, that one squash made enough to fill that whole freezer bag. We are down probably about a third of what we started out with.)
The next squash I used to make squash soup. Now, Jeff was not too excited about the prospect of squash soup for dinner, but he changed his mind after he tasted it. This was YUMMY!! Here's the recipe:
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
32 oz. chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream
Cover the vegetables with chicken stock. (I actually used part stock and part water and bouillon because that's what I had.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (I actually used our hand wand and blended it right in the pot.) If needed, add more chicken stock to get the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. (Crackers go really good with this soup.)
The original recipe called for celery, but I didn't have any so I left it out. It also said to saute the vegetables in 2 T. butter first, but I skipped that part. Did I mention that this soup was yummy? It made enough for the four of us for dinner (with both Jeff and I having a second bowl of soup) and three lunches for me and Emily. (My brave little eater Max would not try this soup. He just kept pretending to take a bite and then would say, "I no like it, mommy!") Another thing that was great about this soup was that all the vegetables, minus the carrots, came from Bill's garden. Thanks for a yummy dinner, Bill!!
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
32 oz. chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream
Cover the vegetables with chicken stock. (I actually used part stock and part water and bouillon because that's what I had.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (I actually used our hand wand and blended it right in the pot.) If needed, add more chicken stock to get the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. (Crackers go really good with this soup.)
The original recipe called for celery, but I didn't have any so I left it out. It also said to saute the vegetables in 2 T. butter first, but I skipped that part. Did I mention that this soup was yummy? It made enough for the four of us for dinner (with both Jeff and I having a second bowl of soup) and three lunches for me and Emily. (My brave little eater Max would not try this soup. He just kept pretending to take a bite and then would say, "I no like it, mommy!") Another thing that was great about this soup was that all the vegetables, minus the carrots, came from Bill's garden. Thanks for a yummy dinner, Bill!!
Yesterday I cooked up our third squash and made "Better Than Pumpkin Pie". Jeff and I both thought this was one of the best "pumpkin" pies we have ever had. Here's the recipe:
1 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell
Place squash in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a blender or food processor, combine butternut squash, brown sugar, cornstarch, egg, milk, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a table knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.
Instead of cooking the squash on the stove, I actually pricked it with a fork several times and baked the entire thing in a 400 degree oven for an hour. Then I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and blended the squash in our blender. It was a big squash and it was not cooked all the way through, so I ended up cooking some of it in the microwave for a few minutes. I only used 1/4 of the entire squash to make this pie.
Can I just say that I have had so much fun expanding my recipes to include squash! Who knew that I would love cooking with squash so much. I actually have one more butternut squash that I got from a neighbor and I've found a recipe for squash fries that is supposed to be even better than sweet potato fries. I'll let you know how they turn out. In the meantime, Bill and Deanne stopped by today and brought me a big red cabbage. I've already got what looks like a yummy recipe to try for tomorrow night!
(If you are looking for a place to find good recipes, check out Allrecipes. It is AWESOME!!)
1 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell
Place squash in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a blender or food processor, combine butternut squash, brown sugar, cornstarch, egg, milk, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a table knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.
Instead of cooking the squash on the stove, I actually pricked it with a fork several times and baked the entire thing in a 400 degree oven for an hour. Then I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and blended the squash in our blender. It was a big squash and it was not cooked all the way through, so I ended up cooking some of it in the microwave for a few minutes. I only used 1/4 of the entire squash to make this pie.
Can I just say that I have had so much fun expanding my recipes to include squash! Who knew that I would love cooking with squash so much. I actually have one more butternut squash that I got from a neighbor and I've found a recipe for squash fries that is supposed to be even better than sweet potato fries. I'll let you know how they turn out. In the meantime, Bill and Deanne stopped by today and brought me a big red cabbage. I've already got what looks like a yummy recipe to try for tomorrow night!
(If you are looking for a place to find good recipes, check out Allrecipes. It is AWESOME!!)
5 comments:
I'm so impressed with your great cooking Adrienne! This post made me hungry - well, except for the pie, since I have never been able to eat pumpkin pie. The texture is just too much for my German taste buds.
I'm totally trying the pie recipe. Who knew that squash could make a yuumy pie!
Wow, you are so resourceful! (Is that the right word?) The soup actually sounds pretty good and the pie, too. We might have to try those recipes. Yay Allrecipes!
Okay, you are a whiz in the kitchen! I used to work next to a Vegan cafe and we had all kind of YUMMY squash creations. My fave is the soup.
PS. I posted the cutie carrot pics at http://heathergardnerphotography.blogspot.com
I just boo-ed you check out my blog!
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