Acorn Squash in the Instant Pot

 

 

This has been a great year for squash in my garden!  I cooked my acorn squash up tonight, and it turned out delicious and was so easy.  I didn't even peel it first!  So fast on the prep!

Acorn Squash in the Instant Pot

1 Acorn Squash, washed and cut into 2 inch pieces, with seeds removed

2 Tbsp butter

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1 c. water

fresh rosemary

Place your cut squash in your Instant Pot, sitting on the trivet.  Add 1 cup of water.  Sprinkle the squash with the salt and pepper.  Rub the rosemary between your fingers and sprinkle it over the squash.  Cook it on high pressure for 8 minutes and do a quick release.  And enjoy!

 

Sweet and Easy Squash

This is the way that Dustin taught me to cook squash.  I usually do Acorn squash, but I have done many other kinds this way and they all taste delicious.  Although, how could anything drenched in butter and brown sugar taste anything other than delicious?!  This is similar to Nicole's awesome recipe for squash, but one big difference is that this one is done in the microwave in about 5 minutes.  So if you don't remember to get it in the slow cooker earlier, this is an easy way to cook it and make it yummy!


Sweet and Easy Squash 
by: Carolyn 


1 Acorn Squash (or any other variety with a hard outside)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
salt to taste


Cut the squash in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Put both halves of the squash face up on a microwave safe plate.  Plop half of the butter and half of the brown sugar on both sides of the squash, in the little hole where the seeds were.  Sprinkle a little cinnamon and a little nutmeg on top of the brown sugar.  Do the brown sugar amounts to your taste.  If you want it a little sweeter, add a little more.  If not, add a little less.  Gently place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of both sides of your squash and cook it in the microwave for 5-6 minutes, or until the squash is tender when poked with a fork.  

When the squash is cooked, let it sit for a couple of minutes until you are able to handle it a little.  Take your fork and scrape the fleshy part of the squash away from the shell part.  You can either scoop it out and serve it in another dish, or do like we often do and just leave it in the shell and eat it right out of it.  Sprinkle a little salt over the top to add a little salty to your sweet and it is delicious!  

Crock Pot Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

Crock Pot Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

Adapted from Potato Patch Recipes

Ingredients:

2 ½  c. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

3 c. butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes

1 c. carrots, peeled and chopped

½ cup onion, chopped

1 can (14 ounces) chicken broth, divided

5-6 tbsp. butter, crumbled

1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼-½  tsp. ground red pepper, to taste

1 ¼ tsp. of salt, or more to taste

Directions:

1.  Combine the sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, onion, butter, and half of chicken broth in your slow cooker.

2.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until vegetables are tender.

3.  Puree until smooth in a blender one cup at a time, returning batches to the slow cooker. (I usually leave a little unblended to add a little texture.)

4.  Stir in the remaining broth, coconut milk, ground cumin, ground red pepper and salt.

5.  Cook on high 15 minutes or until heated through.

This recipe is the perfect comfort soup for this time of year.  It is thick and creamy, sweet with just a hint of heat from the red pepper that makes it all the more comforting.  It’s the perfect soup-in-a-bread-bowl recipe.

Crockpot Stuffed Squash

I love squash! I love it so much and Matt hates it so much. My goal is to make him like squash too so that we can eat it more often, and I succeeded with this one! He loved it, as did I. It's a yummy mix between baked squash and pecan pie. It's not too sweet, and the nuts add a yummy texture. It's a good thing I found a good squash recipe because our squash is doing this

(at the expense of many of our other vegetables). It was literally crawling across the grass. So lucky for the squash plant that I love this recipe, other wise I'd have chopped it down already.

Crockpot Stuffed Squash

(Adapted from About.com)

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash or 1 butternut squash

1/3 cup cracker crumbs

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons orange juice or apple juice

Preparation:

Cut squash in half; scoop out seeds and membranes then place, cut side up, in slow cooker. Combine crumbs, nuts, butter, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and orange juice. Spoon mixture evenly into center of the squash halves.

Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, until squash is tender.

Moroccan Tagine

I tried this recipe the other night when I needed to use up my butternut squash and wanted to try something different than just baked squash. I found this fun gem and really loved it. (Matt even liked it too, even with his disdain for squash. It may have helped that I didn't tell him there was squash in it until he ate it...)

Moroccan Tagine

Adapted from allrecipes.com

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo or northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 carrot or celery, peeled and chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 (14 ounce) can vegetable or chicken broth

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 dash cayenne pepper

1 tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. cinnamon

1 dash of curry powder (if desired)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken, onion, and garlic about 15 minutes, until browned.

2. Mix the squash, beans, carrots or celery, tomatoes with juice, broth, sugar, and lemon juice into the skillet. Add seasonings and bring the mixture to a boil. Continue cooking 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Serve over rice or couscous.

Chicken with Potatoes and Butternut Squash

I had half of my butternut squash left over the other night and tried to find a recipe that used it well (and truth be told, used it in a way that my husband might eat it). I found so many delicious-looking recipes that I now want to try, but this one seemed simple and yummy. I adapted it a little and we loved it! If you're a fan of butternut squash (or even if you aren't) this recipe is worth trying. It's easy enough to be a great weeknight recipe.

Chicken with Potatoes and Butternut Squash

adapted from myrecipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces
• Cooking spray
• 4-6 potatoes, cut into wedges
• ½ butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. Olive oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine potatoes, squash, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a 9X13 baking dish, leaving space in the center for chicken. Bake uncovered at 400° for approximately 20 minutes before adding chicken to the center of the dish.

3. While vegetables are cooking, combine 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic (or to your liking), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Add chicken and lime juice and stir to coat evenly. After 20 minutes, pull veggies out of oven and place chicken in the center of the dish. While adding chicken, lightly brush vegetables with olive oil. Cook an additional 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft.

Summertime Squash and Potatoes

Do you have a TON of these? Well, I do, thanks to my parents. My own garden is not a happy one this year, but if yours is, and you need to get rid of some of these, a very memorable summertime meal when I was growing up was Dad's Squash and Potatoes. He made it a lot when I lived at home and I know he still makes it (I saw the leftovers in the fridge the last time I was there). He has passed on his love of doctored up, buttered up garden veggies to me, so I thought I'd pass it on to you. And if you are a sibling, maybe this will remind you of nice summer nights at Home.

Squash and Potatoes

one large crookneck squash (zucchini would work as well, maybe others would, too)

2-3 potatoes

1 onion

4 Tbsp butter or margarine

salt and pepper to taste

Wash and cut up the squash, potatoes and onions into thin slices (maybe a quarter of an inch?). Try to get them all the same so they will cook equally.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter. Add veggie slices and salt and pepper. Now here is a tip on the salt and pepper. I didn't measure, but I added A LOT of both. In fact, I had three year old Soux-Chef Ryan helping me add the pepper and I got a little worried that he added way too much. But no, it was perfect. And it really seemed like too much pepper. By "a lot" I mean that pretty much your veggies will taste like butter, salt, pepper and a hint of vegetables by the time you are through. Mmmm.

Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. I served mine with cut up chicken in a mesquite spice with bread and homemade apricot jam. I love summer nights!