Butternut Squash?
 

So last night at was at Costco stocking up on fruits and veggies and I found this bag of peeled and cubed butternut squash that I thought could be used to make something good/interesting.

Problem is....I have no idea what to do with it! :?: Any ideas or suggestions?

Hmm... In cube form, you could put some herbs and spices on it and bake it. It will taste like yummy roasted potatoes... but better.

Or... soup?

Ooooooooh.

Roast in a single layer, tossed with cooking spray or a tbsp of olive oil, at 400 degrees or so until tender and slightly browned. I toss mine with chili powder, salt, and pepper before roasting.

If you have access, Trader Joes and some other companies manufacture spiced pumpkin butter. A drizzle of that over the top? Butternut squash heaven.

Ooooh, and Butternut Squash and Leek Soup (from Cooking Light)

Yield
6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients
1 whole garlic head
4 teaspoons olive oil
6 cups thinly sliced leek (about 4 large)
4 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 medium)
2 cups water
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic, squash, 2 cups water, broth, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Place half of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over the opening in the blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture.

Wine note: The creamy texture of the pureed soup matches well with a plump but crisp Chardonnay like J.J. Vincent Bourgogne Blanc ($15). It's suitably rich, round, and fruity, with gently buttery flavors and good acidity to balance the natural sweetness of the squash. -Jeffery Lindenmuth


Nutritional Information
Calories:167 (19% from fat)
Fat:3.5g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.6g)
Protein:4.1g
Carbohydrate:33.5g
Fiber:5.3g
Cholesterol:0.0mg
Iron:3.3mg
Sodium:351mg
Calcium:144mg

I bought some this past weekend and made butternut squash with onions and pecans http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttern...-2/Detail.aspx I added a dash of heat to it with a bit of cayenne pepper.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pasta-w...ge/Detail.aspx butter nut squash with penne and sage makes a wonderful main dish.. just sub out the heavy cream for some evaporated skim milk or regular skim milk

I was just looking for a spinach salad recipe to take to a party on Saturday and I came across an interesting one that called for cubed, cooked butternut squash. I'd roast it like suggested and once cool toss it with spinach, sliced red onion, some dried cranberries, and a nice balsamic vinaigrette. I'm not doing that for the party, but it sounds yummy and I'm going to try it later in the week (I have a squash on the counter that I need to use.)

I also love making soup with it, or just eating it as a side veggie. You could also boil it and mash and use in baked goods like pumpkin, but that may or may not be diet friendly depending on the recipe.

Mash it with some sweet potato, or just roast with a splash of balsamic vinegar. We love this verg and eat it at least twice a week.
It makes fantastic soup, gives it a creamy taste.

Definitely better. :) I had a small butternut squash, which I roasted, with my salmon for dinner.

I'm jealous, I wish my costco had precubed butternut squash.

I'm jealous too! I need to go see if my Costco does. It can be some work to peel and cube a squash (and then my fingers turn orange), but so worth it!

I roast mine just the way Amanda does, roasted with olive oil & salt and whatever I can grab---chile powder, paprika, cumin....hmmm, maybe I will try cinnamon next time! I am on a cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger kick. :drool:

I read somewhere that the pre-cubed squash is flavorless compared to cutting up your own, but I have never done a comparison. Actually, I don't think I've ever tried the pre-cubed ones. I don't if that is one of those things it takes a real picky palate to pick up on, or if it really makes a difference.

Thanks ladies!
I think I am going for either the salad or the roasted squash tonight, and I will definitely be making the soup later, maybe for the weekend :D
It was pure coincidence that I found the bag, it's not that big and they were just "sitting" there very unassumingly in the refrigerated veggie section. I will let you know if I find it to be flavourless too.

hungrygirl.com has some recipes that are really good. I love it baked, with a little ff syrup and spray butter. Tasted kinda like a sweet potato.

I tried it both roasted and in the soup.
We both really liked it roasted, so I ended buying some more :)
I tried the soup a couple of days ago and thought it was kind of bland, so maybe adding some other spice might perk it up...I am not sure what yet, but I will experiment.
I really want to tryi it roasted with something sweet like cinnamon as midwife suggested, so that will be the next batch.
Did anyone else have any luck finding the squash at their local Costco?

I love it roasted with cinnamon. I also like it roasted then mashed with a touch of pure maple syrup.

A note about peeling. If you put your whole squash in the microwave on high for a few minutes (2 to 3 minutes depending on size) *OR* (as my Grandma used to do), drop one in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, remove from microwave/ water and cool before peeling. Makes peeling a breeze with a vegetable peeler. Though I usually don't peel it before roasting. Wash, slice in half, scoop out seeds and roast skin side down. You can easily scoop it out of the skin/shell if roasted long enough. This way works best when you want it very soft for soup. (same with acorn squash)