5 Quick Butternut Squash Recipes→

This year I am going to attempt to grow butternut squash and I’m excited because we increasingly eat more and more of it! For one, it’s bright orange color is beautiful, but it also has a great, subtle flavor that really works well in a lot of dishes. It blends easily to make a creamy sauce, it holds in seasoning flavors, and is a nice substitute for things like potatoes. We eat meat, lots of it actually, but sometimes I’m in the mood for a veggie substitute. Since we’ve been busy lately I have needed some quick meals, enter butternut squash! Here is an easy roasting recipe, plus five of my favorite quick, simple recipes all using roasted butternut squash…

Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 small or medium butternut squash

 Instructions

• Peel off the skin

• Scoop out the seeds

• Slice off the top/bottom ends

• Cut into cubes

• Toss in olive oil (add seasonings as shown below)

• Place on baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes (until centers are soft)

• Let cool before using in recipes or eating

5 Quick Butternut Squash Recipes

1. Butternut Squash Salad

2. Simple, Sweet Side of Squash

3. Butternut Squash Tacos

4. Butternut Squash “Cheesy” Pasta

5. Butternut Squash and Kale Soup

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Butternut Squash Salad

Ingredients

• Butternut squash (roasted)

• Lettuce

• Almonds (chopped or sliced, unsalted, optional)

• Dried cranberries (optional)

• Cherry tomatoes (optional)

Instructions

• Toss, add any additional toppings and dressing of your choice, and enjoy!

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Simple, Sweet Side of Squash

Ingredients

• Butternut squash (peeled, cubed)

• Brown sugar (1/2 cup)

• Cinnamon (2 tsp)

• Nutmeg (2 tsp)

Instructions

• Before roasting, toss the cubed butternut squash in the brown sugar and olive oil

• Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg

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Butternut Squash Tacos

Ingredients

• Butternut squash (peeled, cubed)

• 1/2 of a small head of cabbage

• 2 medium carrots (shredded)

• 1 large avocado

• cherry tomatoes (sliced)

• 1 tbsp cumin

• 2 tsp garlic

• Salt (to taste)

• Taco shells

• Cilantro (optional)

• Coleslaw dressing (optional)

• Sour cream (optional)

Instructions

• Toss the cubed squash with olive oil, cumin, garlic, and salt before roasting

• Chop the cabbage and mix with shredded carrot

• Slice the tomatoes and avocado

• Add ingredients to a taco shell and drizzle with coleslaw dressing (or add this to the cabbage and carrot mix), sour cream, or sauce of your choice

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Butternut Squash “Cheesy” Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butternut squash

• 1 small onion roasted or 1 tsp powder

• 2-3 cloves roasted or 1 tbsp powder of garlic

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• Salt (pinch)

• Pepper (pinch)

• 3/4 cup cashews

• 1 1/2 cup water

• Pasta

• Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Soak cashews overnight or boil for 20 minutes

• If using onion and garlic versus powder, chop and roast with the butternut squash

• Using a blender, blend cashews, squash, onion, garlic, and water till smooth

• Place in saucepan on low and add salt and pepper to taste

• Stir so that sauce doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan

• Toss with pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

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Butternut Squash and Kale Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2-1 whole butternut squash (roasted)

• 1 small bunch of kale (chopped)

• 1 medium onion (chopped)

• 3 roma tomatoes (cubed)

• 1 1/2 cups of cannellini beans

• Broth (see Bone Broth recipe to make your own)

• Salt (to taste)

• Pepper (to taste)

• Italian parsley (optional)

• Italian sausage (optional)

Instructions

• Soak cannellini beans overnight or boil for 30 minutes (until middle becomes soft)

• Place broth in saucepan

• Chop and saute sausage in olive oil till cooked then add to saucepan

• Using the oils from the sausage saute the onion for 1-2 minutes and add to saucepan

• Add cubed tomatoes to pan and saute for 2 minutes, add tomatoes and juice to saucepan

• Add squash, beans, kale, salt, and pepper to saucepan and boil for 3-5 minutes

• Serve hot, garnish with parsley (optional)

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Bone Broth→

Bone broth is a staple in our freezer, I use it in many different recipes. It can be used as a base for soup, flavoring and thinning sauces, liquid when baking meat or boiling veggies, enjoying on its own, and more. Soup bones aren’t often displayed at your local grocery’s meat counter, but if you ask for one they will likely have some behind the counter you can buy. We order our meat from a local farm so soup bones are included in our order, but they can also be found at local butcher shops. We always have a few in the freezer, whether its from our local farmed beef or pork, or the carcass of whole turkey or chicken. You can also leave the bone part out to make a veggie broth, just add extra veggies for flavor!

Homemade Broth

Ingredients

• Soup bone

• 1/3 a stalk of celery, roughly chopped

• 3-4 medium carrots, roughly chopped

• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped

• 10-12 peppercorns

• Salt (to taste)

Instructions

• Add soup bone to crock pot

• Roughly chop vegetables and add to crock pot

• Fill crock pot with water to the top line

• Add peppercorn and salt

• Set on low for 10-12 hours or set on high for 2 hours and then move to low for 6-8 hours

• When finished let cool so that the liquid can separate from the any fat

• Using a colander, sift the liquid from the bones and veggies

• Pour the broth into jars 3/4 full and let cool on a counter, as the broth cools a layer of fat will form on the top, you can leave this or skim off before moving the jars to the fridge or freezer

Lavender Spritzer→

With the new year we’ve taken a little time out on the cocktails so I’ve been looking for some other mixed drinks to enjoy in the evenings. Finding a jar of dried lavender I decided to see what I could mix up and finally landed on this simple spritzer.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp dried lavender

Instructions

• Add water and sugar to a sauce pan and bring to a slow boil

• Add lavender and turn down the heat to a simmer

• Simmer for 5 minutes then let cool

• Once cool, poor liquid through a colander or cheese cloth to sift out the lavender

• Store in a jar in the fridge

Spritzer Instructions

• Add 1/2-1 ounce to a glass of ice

• Pour sparkling water, soda, or tonic water over ice

• Add a slice of lime (optional)

Scalloped Turnips

Growing up I’d spend an evening or two at my grandparents’ house. I could almost always count on scalloped potatoes out of the box next to some breaded chicken, and I loved it. Eating dehydrated potatoes mixed with dehydrated lactose doesn’t quite fit into our whole foods and low-dairy (lactose makes us both a bit sick sadly), so sometime last year I decided to buy a turnip the size of my head and try out some different recipes. One of those recipes was an attempt to recreate one of my favorite side dishes with ingredients from our cupboards. This has since become a near-weekly staple during winter months in our house and brings with it some great memories of those cozy boxed dinners with my grandparents.

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Ingredients:

• 4 medium turnips

• 1 cup onion, chopped

• 1 clove garlic minced or ½ tsp garlic powder

• 1 can coconut milk (or 14 oz of milk or cream)

• 1 tbsp ghee (or butter)

• 1 cup nutritional yeast

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

• ½ tsp arrowroot powder (optional)

• Shredded parmesan cheese or dairy free cheese (optional)

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STEP 1

Using a mandolin, slice the turnips and place in an 11x7 inch (13x9 inch should be fine too) baking dish.

STEP 2

Chop onion and mince garlic (if not using powder). Add ghee (or butter) to a sauté pan and once melted add the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 1-2 minutes until onion starts to soften and slightly brown.

STEP 3

Add coconut milk, onion mix, and 2/3 cup nutritional yeast to a saucepan. Heat till right before liquid begins to boil, stirring lightly. If liquid looks thin, add arrowroot powder (you will not need to wait for this to think on the stove top, that will take place in the oven.

STEP 4

Pour mixture over the turnips. Do not worry about pouring evenly, it will do that while cooking in the oven, but it does help to moisten the top layer of turnips, so the nutritional yeast has something to interact with. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast and parmesan (or dairy free choice) over the top.

STEP 5

Bake at 375˚ for 35 minutes. After this time is up increase the heat to 425˚ and cook for 10 more minutes (until turnips sink into the dish, liquid bubbles, and top begins to brown in some areas). Let cool slightly before serving.

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NOTES

Watch your fingers when using the mandolin, I’ve cut myself more than once! This recipe can be altered to be with dairy, as is dairy-free (of course substituting a dairy-free option for parmesan), and vegan (substituting the ghee with vegan butter, plus substituting the parmesan for a vegan option). We love to pair this with fish or pork, but it of course can work as a side dish for any choice of protein.

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