Slow Cooked Apples and Butternut Squash – Easy Side Dish

I made this a while back to go with Slow Cooked Breakfast Casserole.  It was a great combination.  Since you’re just dumping two ingredients into a slow cooker, it couldn’t be simpler.

Admittedly, it isn’t the most photogenic of recipes.  Don’t let that stop you though.  I’m not sure what it is about orange veggies, like butternut squash, pumpkin, acorn squash and sweet potatoes, but I could eat and eat and eat them.  They are so good!

You can find diced butternut squash in the produce section or the freezer section of the grocery.  I like skipping the step of peeling and chopping a fresh squash, but it would cut down on cost to do your own prep.

Here’s what you’ll need for this easy side dish:   [Read more...]

Butternut Squash Muffins

WAIT! Don’t run away! They are good, I promise! At least they were good to me, and my Dad, and most importantly, my four year old! He is the pickiest eater and has food allergies on top of it, so needless to say, getting enough proper nutrition into him has been a challenge.

He ate his minus the crumb topping, but he ate them! I was thrilled!  He ate a vegetable…for breakfast!

Butternut Squash Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup wheat bran
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups butternut squash puree
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup cinnamon chips
  • Topping (optional):
  • 1/4 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)
  • 1/4 cup wheat bran
  • 1/4 cup AP flour
  • 1/4 cup raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 2 T. coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium size bowl, mix together the flour, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together the squash, milk, brown sugar, & applesauce.
  4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry, and combine.
  5. Fold in cinnamon chips.
  6. Spoon mixture into a 12 cup muffin pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (or liners), about 3/4ths full.
  7. If using crumb topping, mix all the topping ingredients together and sprinkle on top of muffins.
  8. Bake approximately 20 minutes or until done.
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Notes – If you do not have wheat bran, you can use all flour. You could probably sub oat bran or some other flour if desired, but I haven’t tried it.   You could also use pumpkin or sweet potato in the place of butternut squash.  I also had enough batter left over to make a couple baked ‘donuts’ in my donut pan, since my kids like almost anything shaped like a donut! (and how many times can I use ‘donut’ in a sentence?!)
Yes, I am all for sneaking vegetables into my children’s food, and my own for that matter!

For more from KimM, join me over at Makin’ it Mo’Betta; and on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Slow Cooker Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili

This slow cooker recipe for Black Bean Butter Squash Chili receives high marks from my family. In fact, while eating it the other night, my oldest daughter remarked, “This chili is marvelous!” Which struck me as funny, because who says “marvelous”? However, as she asked for seconds, I knew her compliment was sincere.

Since this recipe only needs to cook for 3-4 hours on high, it is the perfect recipe to throw in the slow cooker right before I pick-up the kids from school. Then, it is ready when we get home from whatever practice (usually volleyball) we have that evening.  [Read more...]

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