Oven Roasted Squash

Every fall, my in-laws generously share their bountiful squash harvest with us. And every year, I forget what settings I need for my oven and timer to cook it. So this time around, I remembered to make note of that information so I no longer have to guess!

Oven Roasted Squash
Yield: 1 sheet pan

Ingredients

• Pictured: 1 buttercup (round) & 1 butternut (oblong) squash

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Trim stems off squash. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.
3. Line pan with foil. Place squash in single layer on pan. Pierce with fork. Lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Cover with foil.
4. Bake about one hour, or until squash is fork tender.
5. Let cool on counter, still covered, about 20 minutes.
6. Scoop flesh into bowl. Cover and store in refrigerator (for a few days) or freezer (for a few months) until ready to use.

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

With fall comes all things pumpkin! So get working on this recipe to bring the aroma of autumn to your kitchen. Your taste buds will thank me later!

Pumpkin Crumb Cake
Yield: 8x8 pan

Ingredients
Crumbs:
 1/2 cup brown sugar
 1/4 cup granulated sugar
 1 Tbsp cinnamon
 1/4 tsp salt
 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Cake:
 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
 3/4 tsp baking soda
 3/4 tsp baking powder
 3 tsp cinnamon
 1/4 tsp salt
 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
 1/4 cup granulated sugar
 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
 1 egg, room temperature
 1 cup pumpkin puree (can substitute butternut/buttercup squash)
 2 Tbsp almond milk

Glaze (optional, not shown in photo above):
 1 cup powdered sugar
 3 tsp almond milk
 pinch of salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Make Crumbs: Mix dry ingredients together, then add butter; stir until combined and set aside.
3. Make Cake: Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl and set aside. In stand mixer, cream together sugars and butter. Add egg and mix until well blended. Add pumpkin and mix, making sure to scrape sides of bowl to ensure all ingredients are combined equally. Add dry ingredients and then almond milk; stir until combined.
4. Spread cake batter into pan and top with crumbs. Press down gently.
5. Cook 35-45 minutes. Cake is done when top bounces back.
6. While the cake is cooling, mix glaze ingredients together, if using. Drizzle cake with glaze when ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Caffeine.

What's for Lunch?

I rarely cook myself anything from scratch for lunch, but I had a number of odds-and-ends ingredients leftover in the fridge from other meals I've made this week that I wanted to use up... and that's how this "recipe" was born!

I made homemade onion rings baked in the oven one night with dinner (recipe to be shared another time!), so the scraps from that were chopped up and ready to go. For dessert this week, I made my chocolate chip squash bread and my pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, and I didn't quite need the full quart-size bag of buttercup squash I had defrosted from the freezer. Then I had some fresh spinach that was on the verge of not being salad-friendly anymore, so it would be perfect to cook and wilt down.

Voila! It even looks good enough to be served in a restaurant. :)

Servings: 1

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup mashed buttercup squash (or butternut squash)
pinch of ground sage
pinch of salt
1 large egg

Directions
1. In nonstick pan over medium heat, saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add spinach. Cook until wilted. Remove vegetables from pan onto plate.
2. Meanwhile, stir sage and salt into mashed squash (season to taste). Heat in microwave to warm through. Place on top of cooked spinach and onion.
3. Lastly, fry egg in same pan used for onion and spinach to your desired doneness. Place on top of squash.
4. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Let's be honest here: these moist pumpkin bars are really just a catalyst for the sweet cream cheese frosting layered on top!

Pumpkin Bars
Yield: 9x13 pan

Ingredients
For bars:
 4 eggs
 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
 1 cup vegetable oil
 15 oz can pumpkin (or 2 cups mashed butternut/buttercup squash)
 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
 2 tsp baking powder
 2 tsp cinnamon
 1/2 tsp salt
 1 tsp baking soda

For frosting:
 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
 2 cups powdered sugar
 1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Make bars:
 1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
 2. Using electric mixer at medium speed, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
 3. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture. Mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and batter is smooth.
 4. Spread batter in greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Make frosting:
 5. Combine cream cheese and butter in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.
 6. Store frosted bars in refrigerator.

Notes
• Cut recipe in half to make 8x8 pan. Cook 25-30 minutes. (I still make the full frosting recipe even when I make them in the smaller pan!)

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen on the Food Network.

Chocolate Chip Squash Bread

My in-laws live in Minnesota and grow a bountiful garden every year. There is always an abundance of butternut squash, so I adapted a pumpkin bread recipe many years ago to take advantage of the fresh produce they give to us each fall.

Mini Loaf (perfect for gift-giving!)

Large Loaf (easy to double!)

Chocolate Chip Squash Bread
Yield: 1 large loaf or 4 mini loaves

Ingredients
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup mashed butternut squash*
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

* Buttercup squash also works well in this recipe since it's sweet. Or you can substitute canned pumpkin in place of the squash for a more traditional recipe!

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 335°F. (I have a convection oven. If using a standard oven, increase temperature to 350°F.)
2. Grease loaf pan with Crisco.
3. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices until well blended. Set aside.
4. Beat eggs, pumpkin, sugars, milk, and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients; stir just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
5. For full size loaf: Bake 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. For mini loaves: Bake 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
8. For easier slicing (and moister bread), wrap bread in plastic wrap and store overnight before cutting.