Winter squash is a wonderful reminder of growing veggies this past summer in your garden. Cooking up your harvest in the dead of winter can really brighten the day and work as reassurance that planting season is not that far off!
My all time favorite winter squash has to be the Delicata - it is light and has a fresh taste all its own. I grew the Delicata up on a trellis this year and had a nice yield. I simply cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place in a glass dish with an inch of water. The squash is face down in the water – skin side up and the dish is covered with foil to keep the steam in. Cook for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven and then scoop the delicious Delicata right out of the skin. Eat as is or you can add butter and/or brown sugar.
Cooked Delicata
This evening for dinner I tried something very simple and was surprised how good it came out. I peeled and cubed up a butternut squash and added it to our slow cooker with 32 oz. of chicken stock. I let it cook for about 2 hours and then mashed it with a potato masher to make a super soup!
After 2 hours
Butternut Squash Soup
Served up with croutons …. Easy! You can also add any type of spice to your liking…I added a sprinkle of nutmeg – just a sprinkle; don’t add too much!
Try growing a winter squash in your garden next season if you have the space. They do grow on vines and you can trellis them as I did. The winter squash skin is much harder than the summer squash so take care when cutting them up. They are highly nutritious and really easy to cook up!
Filed under: cooking, food, Gardening, Healthy Living, Recipes Tagged: | butternut squash, cooking, delicata, Gardening, healthy eating, Recipes, winter squash
