My neighbor gave me a small butternut squash, anyone have any good recipes. Can I steam it? Or should I roast it? Any help would be great. Tia Cheryl

I love to make soup with butternut squash. It's a really low-cal side for lunch.

I cut the thing in half and bake it in the oven and then scoop out the insides. Then I saute onions, garlic and lots of ginger until soft and then add the squash and chicken broth. Let it simmer, season and puree (if you want) and then serve it with a dollop of lite sour cream. Yum!

My favorite way to make butternut squash is to cut it in half lengthwise. Then I scoop out the seeds and put the halves in a casserole dish with a little water in the bottom (to keep it from scorching in the oven). Then I spray the 'wells' with butter spray and sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar and bake it at around 375 for about an hour or so until it's nice and tender.

Also, I found a recipe at Hungry Girl for Butternut Squash Fries.

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chew...s.php?isid=812

I make it similar to LLV, but instead of the butter spray I use cooking spray and instead of brown sugar I use a little splenda and lots of cinnamon. Delish.

I have a good butternut squash chili (with ground turkey) one. If you want it let me know I'll dig it out.

I like it to taste buttery

And as much as I've tried getting used to Splenda, that stuff just gags me. I saw in the store Splenda brown sugar and almost bought it. But when I compared the nutrition information to that of regular brown sugar, there wasn't really much of a difference, calorie-wise. So I just sprinkle on a little bit of the regular.

My concoction for sweet potatoes would probably be good on the squash as well: I mix 2 tablespoons of fat-free cream cheese (softened) with some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and put that on a hot baked sweet potato. So yummy!

I use olive oil and roast it - usually with some parsnips, carrots, beets, etc. Although, if I put beets in I boil them a bit first because they seem to take a lot longer than the rest.

Martha Stewart has a great recipe for "lighter" mac and cheese that uses butternut squash that I absolutely love. It doesn't taste anything like mac and cheese, but it's very tasty.

Otherwise, I usually roast it like many of the others have posted: cut in half the long way with the seeds scooped out, on a baking dish with some olive oil spray. I roast at a higher temp, though, like 425, until the skin starts to get dark. I also like to throw a couple of cloves of garlic into each of the cavities to roast along with the squash, and then I puree everything (scoop out the squash flesh and peel the garlic) in the food processor with a little chicken stock.

Yes, me too. I went to buy the brown sugar Splenda, and noticed it was very similar to regular brown sugar, so I didn't bother purchasing it.

I don't use much Splenda when I make it. But I do use a ton of cinnamon. It really gives it a lot of flavor. I like the idea of using pumpkin pie spice. Which I've never used before. It sounds like it would be real good. What actually IS pumpkin pie spice?

I just recently discovered acorn squash. This topping works REAL well on these cute, tiny squashes. It's very smooth. Just delicious.

WOW thanks for that Hungry Girl site. I love that website and can't wait to bread something with Fiber One!

About the squash. I have always wanted to try one, but never have so I'm intimidated. All your ideas on how to cook it sound yummy. What does it taste most like? Sweet potato? How do buy it? Is there a secret to getting a good one? Help me please!!

Hi Pita. The spaghetti squash doesn't resemble sweet potato. I find the acorn squash is more similar to a sweet potato. And just as smooth. The spaghetti squash when cooked, comes out in strands, like - spaghetti. It has a fairly mild taste and will take on what ever type sauce you use. I very often make it with browned onions, mushrooms, and a little marinara sauce.

I've yet to buy a bad one. I buy the ones that are oval, bright yellow and smooth. After purchased, I store it in the fridge for up to a week. So far, so good.

Don't be intimidated, athough I do know what you mean. Prior to my weightloss journey I never had one either. It seemed like a totally foreign object. But I was looking for variety and this was perfect. I love it. So please give it a try. Experiment and figure out what you like best with it.

Best way for Spaghetti Squash Olive Oil (or cooking spray or butter) tons of garlic and PArmesan cheese!!!!!!!!!!!
it takes 10-20 min in the micro cut side down in an inch of water.
I have to check on oven times

I made a butternut squash risotto the other day - 190 cals for a GIGANTE portion, what a great side dish.

Mmmm.

Is that with arborio rice, Amanda? And chicken stock? I've stayed away from risotto because I'm worried about all those rice calories. I love, love, love wild mushroom risotto, with parmesan and sometimes chicken. Soooo yummy. I should figure out the cals and try to make it work as a side, rather than a main.

Don't worry about the rice calories!

What I did was used 1 cup arborio rice for 4 servings, so the rice calories per portion were only 140, according to my box. Then I used lowfat/low sodium chicken stock (4 cups) and about 2 cups of butternut squash in a small dice.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock, heated in a separate saucepan
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 a medium butternut squash, cut in a small dice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the arborio rice, stir to toast and coat with the oil, about 2 minutes. Add the butternut squash and enough chicken broth to come just about 3/4 of the way up the rice/squash mixture. Reduce heat to medium low and stir often. As the liquid absorbs, add more (make sure the liquid is simmering - this will ensure the temperature stays consistent) and stir to combine.

The squash gets softened, the rice gets creamy and delicious, and the portion is huge due to the butternut squash bulking up the recipe. The butternut squash adds an amazing subtle sweetness. I topped each portion with 1 tbsp grated parm (20 cals).