Tag Archives: cinnamon

How to Cook Butternut Squash

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Halloween just passed and you know what that means…..Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Every year we spend the month of November preparing and planning for the largest feast of the year.  Who is supposed to bring what? What time are we eating where? How are we going to prepare our Turkey this year? These are just some of the questions that we begin to think about as soon as October rolls into November.

Each recipe that we post this month will be dedicated to the preparation of traditional Thanksgiving foods.  These dishes would also be considered a great addition to any autumn or winter meal.

Fresh Butternut squash that we purchased on our last trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Where we live, the Fall harvest season has come to an end.  The pumpkin patches no longer are full of visitors finding that perfect pumpkin to carve, the corn mazes are now empty, and all the gourds, squashes, and decorative corn stalks have found new homes.  During our last trip to the pumpkin patch this year, we purchased a Butternut Squash. I have to be honest, this isn’t something that we make on a weekly basis, or even monthly. But there is something about the chill in the air and the smell of pumpkin and squash that puts you in the mood for the holidays. Butternut squash is often prepared as  a traditional side dish at Thanksgiving.  It’s also used in many soups and is a common ingredient in several pasta dishes.

There are several ways to prepare fresh Butternut Squash.  Some people bake it whole, and others peel the skin with a sharp peeler.   The directions below is our preferred  method of creating the ideal cooked Butternut Squash.  For our Vegan family and friends, substitute olive oil for the butter and you have a Vegan friendly side dish.

Cut the top and bottom off the Butternut Squash to make it level to cut the squash lengthwise

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425degrees

1. Wash your Butternut Squash

2. Cut off each end to make it sit level on your cutting board

3. Cut your Squash lengthwise

4. Scoop out seeds and ‘gunk’

***Save the seeds and roast them as you would do with Pumpkin seeds – they are just as tasty!

5. Place on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet with skin side down

6. Spread two tablespoons of melted butter evenly on both halves

Butter, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Nutmeg used to add flavor

7. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg

8. Cover with foil

9. Bake for 30 minutes

10. Uncover and continue to bake for 10 minutes to lightly brown

Butternut squash cut and peeled away from the skin

Diced Butternut Squash

Diced Butternut Squash

Puree squash for use in soups and casseroles

11. Once you remove it from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes.  Slice in 1/2 inch portions – removing the skin of each piece.

**Please note:  Some skin will fall right off, however you may need to cut off the skin on the bottom side or scoop the flesh off the skin.

12. Dice into bite-sized pieces.

13. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

Now what???  There are several options on how to serve your Butternut Squash.  Traditionally you would serve it ‘as is’ as a side dish.  It is a tasty compliment to your Thanksgiving Turkey, traditional meatloaf, or as part of a pasta meal.

You can also place your diced (or scooped) pieces into a food processor to make a puree for use in soups, sauces, and casseroles.  I even freeze my butternut squash puree for future use in comfort dishes that we tend to crave on those cold winter nights.

There are several cooking websites that can show you additional recipes to use with your freshly roasted butternut squash.

Here is a link to a Butternut Squash Soup recipe courtesy of  Food Network’s Ina Garten.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-butternut-squash-soup-and-curry-condiments-recipe/index.html

Whatever you choose to make with your Butternut Squash, it is really easy to make it from scratch!

Mary

Shared On Frugally Sustainable, Savvy Southern Style, Gnowfglins

Make Your Own Apple Butter – Easy Crock Pot Recipe

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Canned Apple Butter

As the autumn leaves turn vibrant colors of red and yellow, it reminds me that the apple picking season is well underway.  We have about a 2 month span to collect, eat, and preserve anything we can using fresh picked apples from a local orchard.  Besides snacking on slices of crisp apples (dipped in caramel or peanut butter), our favorite apple recipe is hands down our Homemade Crock Pot Apple Butter.

Using a Pampered Chef product makes the peeling, coring, and slicing of an apple an easy task.

We live about one hour from a large Amish community, and this is where I was first introduced to the succulent taste of apple butter.  Nothing could compare to the sweetness of the apple spread on a piece of warm toast.   I decided then that I had to learn to make it on my own. So after many attempts at various recipes, this one is by far the most delicious, and least time-consuming.   As we all know, this time of the year the days go by quickly.  The garden has to have its final picking, the soil has to be prepared for next year, the kids are deep into their studies and athletics, and of course, there is less and less sunlight every day.   Now is the time to pull out that crock pot that has had its summer off, and put it to good use – even for Apple Butter.

INGREDIENTS:

All the ingredients in the Crock Pot, ready to cook over night.

6lbs of apples (peeled, cored, sliced) **weight before peeling**
4 cups of sugar
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of cloves
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Place all ingredients into a large crock pot.  Turn on high for 1 hour, then turn to low for an additional 10-11 hours.  Uncover and cook for 1 hour longer on low to thicken.

The Final Step – placing the cooked apples through the sieve

Put through a sieve to smooth out.  Makes 4-5 pints.  Freeze or can (10 minutes in a hot water bath).

Hint: Tart apples are best to use – Jonathan, McIntosh, Winesap, Cortlands, and Gala   are just a few of the varieties that we find best for making good apple butter.  Local orchards are usually a great resource as well – and are usually more than glad to tell you what varieties they grow are best for.

- Mary and Jim

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Shared on Little House In The Suburbs, The Barn Hop, Savvy Southern Style, Frugally Sustainable, Gnowfglins Simple Lives, Shabby Creek Transformation Thursday

What Do I Do With All These Carrots?? – Homemade Carrot Cake, of course! (Recipe Included)

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This past weekend I was so excited to start to pick the first round of our summer crop of vegetables.

Early Spring Crop Picking

I picked a few cucumbers, small onions, zucchini, peppers, and carrots.  I was very surprised at the amount of carrots that were poking up through the soil, begging to be picked.  Because I was in the zone of pulling weeds and digging out the veggies, I didn’t notice that my basket was full of so many carrots that even Peter Rabbit would have been stuffed.   So as I was at the kitchen sink cleaning the crops, I began thinking of what I could make to use up all of the carrots.   Of course, feeding them to our family as a nice crisp snack as we watched baseball games was my first thought.  (You can only eat so much ballpark food, and honestly, by June, I don’t want to even step foot near a concession stand).  So as I packed the orange treats in small snack bags, I realized that we barely made a dent in the supply.  The boys will snack on them when Ranch dip is available, but I knew we would need to get creative to ensure that we would not to waste the remaining supply.  It has been extremely hot in Ohio, and the thought of putting the carrots in a crock pot with a roast all day, honestly just doesn’t sound appealing right now.  I had to think of something fun and cool to make in order to use the rest of the first picking crop.

Of course, with future crops, we will be sharing our treasures with family, friends, and the community, but these are first picking carrots –which are not so pretty, if you know what I mean. So….last night, as I got my nightly sweet tooth, it came to me!  Homemade Carrot Cake!    This isn’t a family recipe passed on from generation to generation……YET!  I did some research on the internet and added a few changes to this basic recipe, and by the end of the night, it was GONE!  Yes, a success I would say.

HOMEMADE CARROT CAKE RECIPE

     Ingredients:

Mixing the ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups grated carrots

    Cream Cheese Icing

     Icing Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots.

Folding in the shredded carrots – Hint – use the coarse grater not the fine grater to make the moisture content perfect!

Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Frost the cooled cake.

The Final Product – Moist and Delicious Carrot Cake!

ENJOY!