Fall has arrived!

I am not sure what I love more about the season changes – the change in the weather and landscape – or the change in the food we eat!

For us, fall means soup, quick breads, muffins, roasted chickens, roasted veggies, baked yams, and squash. YUM!

We have two favorite recipes for butternut squash. I thought I would share them both at the same time!

First, though, I always bake my squash some before I use them in a recipe.

Just wash the squash off, prick it with a sharp knife in several places, place it in a pan with a couple inches of water on the bottom of the pan, and bake it at 350 degrees for about 40 – 45 minutes or until somewhat soft.

Remove the squash from the oven, carefully cut it in half (it’s hot!), scoop out the seeds, peel off the rind, and cut the squash into cubes.

I accidentally cooked this one too long! It is much softer than it should be.

Now for the recipes!

Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake

1 large butternut squash, partially cooked and cut into cubes
2 large apples, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup butter
Sauce:
1 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup brown sugar (we use coconut sugar, and only 1/4 cup)
1 TBSP of flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
(we add 1/2 tsp cinnamon for extra flavor)

Place squash, apples, and cranberries in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients, and pour over top. Dot top with butter. Bake at 350 degrees 30 – 40 minutes until squash, apples and berries are soft and tender. We double this recipe for our family!

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

four carrots, peeled and diced
one onion, diced
three cloves of garlic, minced
2 TBSP oil (we use coconut oil)
two large butternut squash partially cooked and cubed
8 cups of chicken stock or veggie stock
Herbamare* and pepper to taste

Saute the carrots, onion and garlic in the oil in a stock pot for several minutes until softened. Add squash and stock. Simmer over medium heat until squash and carrots are fully cooked. Add Herbamare* and pepper to taste. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is smooth, or carefully put part of the soup in a blender and blend – blending in parts until all soup is blended. Be sure not to try to blend all of the soup in the blender at once, as it is very hot.

*Herbamare is a seasoning blend that we LOVE. It is similar to Mrs. Dash.

Enjoy!!

Have you all ever cooked spaghetti squash and used it as noodles? This is a favorite for us! Maybe I will share that recipe soon!