Tutorial Tuesday- Roasted Butternut Squash

Welcome to the very first installment of Tutorial Tuesday! I'm going to start things out nice and easy with a tutorial for roasting butternut squash. Butternut squash is one if those super-versatile vegetables that, especially when roasted, can be used for making all kinds of things. But we'll get to that later. ;)

Lets get started!

First, take your fresh squash and cut length-wise into halves. Scoop out all of the seeds and the stringy, uh, stuff. (I'm sure it has a name, but oh well!) I like to use an ice cream scoop since well, it is made for scooping after all, but any metal spoon will do just fine.

Next, place the halves cut side down in a baking dish. I used one of those little disposable roasting pans from the grocery store because every. single. one. of my baking dishes is currently occupied. (I told you I'd be cooking up a storm!) I don't think the actual dish is all that important anyway as long as it has sides tall enough to hold everything in.

Add enough water to come up the sides of the squash about 1/4 inch.

Preheat the oven to 375°, then cook the squash uncovered for about an hour, or until realllllllllllllly soft and starting to brown. Ooooh Just look at that toasty goodness. See how mine are even starting to fall apart? That's perfect!

By the way, the smell is just fantastic!

When you take the pan out, drain the water off* and let the squash cool. Be patient, believe me, those suckers are going to be hot for awhile!

*If you're going to puree the squash for soup or for making baby food, collect the cooking juices in a container and set aside to use for thinning your mix.

When the squash pieces have cooled enough to handle, whip out your trusty metal spoon again and scoop out all of the flesh. Sometimes, the skin just peels right off, and there's no scooping required. ;)

If you haven't already eaten it all by the time you're finished, you'll have a nice big bowl full of butter-nutty goodness! I used half of mine to make baby food, and the other half to make butternut squash risotto for me and the hubbs. YUM!

So there you go, Roasted Butternut Squash: easy-peasy! Go for it! :)


XOXO

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