Cooking Challenge: Butternut Squash

inskydiamonds

Welcome to the thirtieth round of the cooking challenge! This week's ingredient comes to us from metal_beau, the winner of the green bean cooking challenge.

Sorry I'm a day late! I had a final yesterday that kicked my butt and I just didn't get on it. Also - this challenge MAY close a little late, because I'm going to be going out of town from the 13th-19th, but I will still have computer access.. But my timing may be off a bit. BUT ANYWAY!



This week's challenge is BUTTERNUT SQUASH.

These are the rules for the challenge:

1. You don't need to have created the recipe from scratch, but you DO need to make it.
2. Voting will be put up for the challenge and the winner of the challenge will pick the next ingredient to be used.
3. Pictures are encouraged but not required. If you want to post a picture upload it on a website like photobucket.com or tinypic.com . If there's any questions about how to do that, don't be shy to ask me.
4. You do need to post the recipe you used so other people can try it too, if they so please.
5. If you used a recipe from another source give credit to the original creator!
6. Your recipe can be a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert! Anything!

Fill out the following form to play:

NAME OF RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
CALORIES PER SERVING:
HOW MANY IT SERVES:
OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC:
PICTURE (optional):

Voting for this challenge will begin next Saturday May 14th at 5PM Pacific Standard Time.

meagalayne

Bump! Not exactly winter squash season, but I love it anyway!

maeadair

Bump... Hmmm? Which one(s) to post? This one of my favorite foods! Do not worry about being late Liz, you do an awesome job keeping up with this. You are truly appreciated. :-)

Ryhenblue

I normally make the squash into a soup or mash it up and add spices to replace mashed potatoes; but I found this recipe (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=35373.0) and I'm going to make it later this week.

I was slacking and still have squash in my freezer I need to use.

Super Squash Cake

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

olive oil, for greasing pan
2 cups winter squash, mashed (butternut or pumpkin work well)
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan sugar or agave nectar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil (if using a dry sweetener, use 1/2 cup; if using agave or moist sweetener, use 1/4)
1 cup walnuts, chopped, optional
vegan cream cheese frosting, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x11" pan or line with parchment. Chop and steam the squash approximately 25 minutes or until you can stick a fork through easily. After squash cools, the good parts easily separate from the peel. Discard the peel and mash the squash (2 cups).

2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt. In a large bowl, mix sweetener, squash, applesauce, vanilla, and oil until well blended.

3. Slowly pour flour mix into wet ingredients. Add walnuts, if using. Don't over mix or cake won't rise as well when baking. Check moisture level; this should have the wet consistency of a cake mix, not dry like bread mix.

4. Pour mixture in prepared pan, and pop in the oven. Check after 40 minutes. After cooling, you can garnish with a faux-cream cheese frosting or enjoy by itself.

Source of recipe: I wrote this recipe.

Makes: One 9X11 Pan, Preparation time: 1 1/2 hour, Cooking time: 40 minutes

I estimated 16 servings for this cake and the nutrition calculation came to

Per Serving:
Calories 178
Carbs 25
Fat 8
Protein 4
Fiber 3
Sodium 186

onawhymm

I have to post this recipe that I found a couple of weeks (sparkrecipes.com) ago and I am absolutely addicted to!!! Mae - this one is for you!

Chef Meg's Whole Wheat Couscous with Spinach and Squash

Nutritional Info
• Fat: 2.1g
• Carbohydrates: 47.6g
• Calories: 228.4
• Protein: 8.6g
Ingredients
8 shallots, halved
1 butternut squash, about 3 pounds in weight, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup whole wheat Israeli (pearl) couscous
6 ounces spinach
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon rosemary, dried
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, dried
1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray or use a silicone baking liner. Place the shallots and the squash on the pan, and roast for 30 minutes, or until the shallots start to color and squash is just tender.

While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the couscous. Bring 1 1/4 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan, add couscous and stir. Cover, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye on the water level in the pan to make sure you don't burn the couscous.)

Once the couscous is cooked, turn off the heat, then add the roasted vegetables, spices, vinegar, and spinach. The spinach will steam from the heat of the couscous. Take the pan off the burner and stir in the cheese.

Makes 6 one cup servings

Number of Servings: 6

Laura_beau

Butternut squash enchiladas: Recipe serves 4 (Based on 1 enchilada per person)

Calories: 340 per enchilada & filling/ topping (may vary depending on brand of ingredients used)

Ingredients:

1 Large butternut squash
4 low fat tortillas (I used weight watchers 90 cals per wrap)
1 cup black beans
1 cup low fat shredded cheddar
4 tbsp low fat/fat free sour cream
4 tbsp jalepeno peppers
1 tsp cayenne pepper *
1 cup enchilada sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh corriander/cilantro
1 cal spray oil

- Cut the squash into quarters, and scoop out and discard the seeds. Place face down on a baking tray and spray with 1 cal spray oil. Bake in a hot oven (220 degrees) for at least 30 mins or until cooked.

- Scoop out the flesh into a bowl and season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Mash well. Add the chopped jalepenos and black beans. Stir through.

- Place quarter of the mixture on a tortilla and roll- place in a baking tray. Repeat with the other ones.

- Top tortilla rolls with enchilada sause and shredded cheddar. Bake in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.

- To serve, put a tbsp of sour cream on top of each one, sprinkle with cilantro and squeeze a wedge of lime over it.

- Optional- serve with green salad & homemade guacamole (not included in calorie count).

* Adjust jalepeno/ cayenne to your own personal taste. You can also use your favourite mexican seasoning, or fresh chillis instead if you prefer.

Laura_beau

BUMP

FTIM2015

Cooking for the BF's family tonight and this has given me a great idea of what to cook! Now to try and find the recipe!

wolsteem

Got to watch this one..... love butternut squash :happy:

Debma1010

Bump

Laura_beau

Bumpety bump!

Any more recipes? It's my fave veg and it would be great to get more inspiration x

FTIM2015

Last night I made (and didn't have chance to take a picture of as it went that fast!)

Butternut squash and Feta cheese patties!

Thankfully it's not something that you need exact amounts for....

1 large ish squash (heavy for it's size means more flesh. Get whatever size you think best for the amount you're feeding)
Crumbled feta cheese (I used light stuff and it worked well. Used 200g to a squash that was about 12" high and 4" wide)
Salt and pepper to season
Plain flour
a little oil


Cook the squash however you prefer, I roasted mine.

Once it is well cooked and soft, mash it or put it through a ricer then mix with the feta cheese, I seasoned the cheese with salt and pepper before I mixed it in.

Mix in about 3 table spoons of the flour to make it thicker then chill.

Leave it for about half hour or so.

Flour your hands well and take a small lump, roll in flour (because it WILL stick to you!), and squash to make it look like a burger shape.

In a pan heat the oil until hot, then place the 'burger' into the oil. Leave it to cook until it's a light brown colour, making sure to do both sides.

Place onto kitchen paper to drain the remaining oil from it then serve. We had ours with salad with balsamic and lemor juice dressing, grilled chicken and roast new potatoes and it was really tasty. But they're lovely chilled with salad too!

Ryhenblue

I normally make the squash into a soup or mash it up and add spices to replace mashed potatoes; but I found this recipe (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=35373.0) and I'm going to make it later this week.

I was slacking and still have squash in my freezer I need to use.

Super Squash Cake

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

olive oil, for greasing pan
2 cups winter squash, mashed (butternut or pumpkin work well)
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan sugar or agave nectar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil (if using a dry sweetener, use 1/2 cup; if using agave or moist sweetener, use 1/4)
1 cup walnuts, chopped, optional
vegan cream cheese frosting, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x11" pan or line with parchment. Chop and steam the squash approximately 25 minutes or until you can stick a fork through easily. After squash cools, the good parts easily separate from the peel. Discard the peel and mash the squash (2 cups).

2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt. In a large bowl, mix sweetener, squash, applesauce, vanilla, and oil until well blended.

3. Slowly pour flour mix into wet ingredients. Add walnuts, if using. Don't over mix or cake won't rise as well when baking. Check moisture level; this should have the wet consistency of a cake mix, not dry like bread mix.

4. Pour mixture in prepared pan, and pop in the oven. Check after 40 minutes. After cooling, you can garnish with a faux-cream cheese frosting or enjoy by itself.

Source of recipe: I wrote this recipe.

Makes: One 9X11 Pan, Preparation time: 1 1/2 hour, Cooking time: 40 minutes

I estimated 16 servings for this cake and the nutrition calculation came to

Per Serving:
Calories 178
Carbs 25
Fat 8
Protein 4
Fiber 3
Sodium 186

I made this cake today and it was really good.

I only added 1 1/2 tbs of canola oil
then added
1/4 cup Almond butter
1 tbs Wheat Germ
and added about a 1/3 cup water to moisten batter

It wasn't overly sweet which is nice. Would be good with coffee in the morning. I used agave nectar but if you want it sweeter I'd recommend 3/4 to a cup of brown sugar or add frosting to sweeten it.

I dropped this down to 12 servings so the nutrition info came to

Per Serving

Calories 245
Carb 34
Fat 11
Protein 6
Fiber 4
Sodium 248

maeadair

STUFFED BUTTERNUT
This is a favorite recipe of mine but I do not have Nutrient values or serving size ( sorry).
Is a total meal all by itself.

Cut one butternut in half length wise and scoop out seeds and stringy interior.
Prick holes in squash with fork,season with light sprinkles of onion and garlic powder.
Saute chopped onions, celery, garlic, sweet peppers in fry pan with Pam spray
then add garlic chicken sausage cut up into small pieces (or sausage/meat of your choice...I change it up at different times)
Season with dash of worcestershire sauce (low sodium) and cumin.
Cook til brown and veggies soft
Make brown rice or use leftover rice
Combine rice with sausage and veggies
Place this in center of butternut squash and bake approx. 45 -65 min in 350 degree oven ( sometimes cook squash in microwave before hand, til lightly soft...not mushy, then in oven approx 30-45 mins ).
At end can add cheese and broil til lightly browned if you like( I like!!! LOL)

Sometimes I add cut up tomatoes on top of rice/meat/veggie mix , then definitely melt cheese on top at end.
Sometimes the left over brown rice was cooked in tomato sauce or soup and this gives an added flavor.


ENJOY! Serving size and cooking time depends on size of squash.

maeadair

Homemade butternut soup Delicious!

Cut squash in half
Set in dish in microwave and cook til very soft.
Scoop squash out of skin and put in blender
Add (approximately) 1/2 - 1 cup light half and half (cream or milk of your choice)
2 dashes cinnamon, 1dash nutmeg, 1/2 tsp curry, 1/4 tsp tumeric, pinch salt, garlic and onion powder to taste, dash of black pepper
Blend/ reheat .
I like to add cut up cooked carrots to this, and sometimes other veggies and chicken as well

Serving approx 1 cup
cals =94
carbs =24
calcium = 106
sodium = 44
fat = 1 ( using fat free or reduced fat half N half)
iron = 1.8

lil_pulp

I have nothing to offer, but want to come back later and copy some of these. Thanks!

maeadair

So far all sound absolutely delicious! It is going to be a hard one to vote on. Could that be because this is my favorite vegetable?! (Smile) :-)

bossmodehan

Butternut and red lentil dahl. Serves 6 (easy to scale down - I did half quantities so i still have half a squash in my fridge so one of these recipes is bound to come in handy!) Also I used my slowcooker/crockpot, but you could do it in one big pot in the stove and shorten the cooking time!

You will need:
1 butternut squash peeled and cubed (about 600grams once peeled)
300g red split lentils - rinse them
turmeric
chilli powder
ginger powder (fresh would be even better)
ground cinnamon (cinnamon stick just as good)
cumin
1 litre hot water

literally, just throw it all into the pot and cook on low for 8 hours, stirring halfway to mush up the squash! I haven't provided any quantities for the spices because it's all down to personal taste. I think I started with about half a teaspoon of each at first (remember - i was doing half the quantity) and adding more chilli as i like it quite hot. any leftovers can be reheated.

I feel this will become my comfort food from now on - it has that satisfying curry edge but with no guilt (as far as I'm concerned!)

nutrition per serving (approx):
calories - 214, carbs - 43, fat - 0, protein - 13.

To make it a more balanced meal, serve with some lovely steamed veg and have a handful of nuts after to get those good fats in!

beckyinma

This is one I use Butternut Squash with, especially if I make it in spring, and winter when pumpkin is no longer in season. The good thing about Winter Squash is that it lasts forever on the counter, so this is one I could make anytime! I especially like to make it for big groups. This is one of two of my all time favorite soups to make all year round...

Recipe and photo courtesy Cooking Light Magazine

NOTE: I do not use fresh roasted red peppers or jalapenos anymore. The first two or 3 times I did, and it took forever, so now I use jarred roasted red peppers (not in oil) and fresh jalapenos (served on the side). Use Light sour cream as a garnish, and I also reduce the cumin by 1/2 because I'm not fond of it.



Pumpkin Chicken Chowder

Ingredients
U.S.
2 (about 14 ounce) red bell peppers
2 (about 1 ounce) jalapeño peppers
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 1/2 pound(s) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
3 leeks, white and light-green parts only
1 (about 2 pounds) pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
1 teaspoon(s) chili powder
1 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh ground pepper
1 ear(s) (1 cup) corn, kernels removed
3 can(s) (14 1/2 ounces each) low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon(s) Fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup(s) sour cream (optional)
Directions

Roast the peppers: Preheat oven to broil. Place the red peppers and jalapeños on a baking sheet and cook under the broiler, turning occasionally, until the skins blacken, about 10 minutes. Seal the charred peppers in a plastic bag for 10 to 12 minutes. Peel, stem, seed, and cut peppers into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.
Make the soup: Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned. Remove the chicken and keep warm. Add the leeks and pumpkin and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the flour, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the corn, peppers, chicken, broth, and oregano and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, about 30 minutes. Garnish with sour cream if desired and serve hot.


Nutritional Information
(per serving)

Calories 157
Total Fat 8.1g
Saturated Fat --
Cholesterol 32mg
Sodium 207mg
Total Carbohydrate 10.7g
Dietary Fiber 1.8g
Sugars --
Protein 11.4g
Calcium --

Serves: 16
Yields: 16 half-cup servings

dragonbait0126

not really a recipe but my favorite way to cook butternut squash is super simple.

*prepare the squash (peel, scoop seeds) and cube
*place cubes on a baking sheet and toss in extra virgin olive oil, fresh ground pepper, fresh ground sea salt
*bake at about 350 until tender (temperature can be higher if you need to cook it faster)

the flavor is the squash really comes through and all my friends kids love it when it is cooked this way.

inskydiamonds

Last day to enter those recipes!

annrum

Here's my recipe for butternut squash pasta:

1 butternut squash
1 onion
1 red bell pepper.
4 slices back bacon (chopped into small pieces)

Dice the above & place in a roasting pan with a little olive oil drizzled over the top & if you have it, some fresh rosemary. Roast everything until the squash is soft.

Meanwhile, boil about 100g of pasta, I use fusili but whatever you have. Drain the pasta when it's as you like it & leave until the veggies are just about ready.

Add the cooked pasta to the veggies & crumble in the feta. Return to the oven for another 5 mins or so to let the feta melt.

Serves about 4 people (quantities can be adjusted as needed), works out at around 290 cals per person.

Laura_beau

Yummy- Buttternut & rosemary are best friends!!

inskydiamonds

Sorry I'm a day late. I was running 40 hours with no sleep last night and was at a wedding until pretty late. Voting starts now and ends Wednesday 5/18 at 5PM PST.

http://www.scribbld.com/customview.cgi?user=whiskey&styleid=27146

maeadair

Just as I figured, so many yummy recipes; this will be a difficult choice this week. HMMMM?

inskydiamonds

Congratulations to GlamourPuss86 and the Butternut Squash and Feta Cheese Patties !
Enter the zucchini challenge: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/241110-cooking-challenge-zucchini