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Versatile vegetable side dish can be dressed up or down

Recipe: Baked butternut squash casserole, plain or fancy

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Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED NOV 21, 2021

Orange casserole in a white dish on oven rack
Who needs marshmallows? Butternut squash is sweet enough. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Butternut squash subs for sweet potatoes in this lighter (and potentially healthier) version of a classic fall casserole. I say “potentially” because, like sweet potato casserole, it depends on what you put on top. Loaded with a layer of toasted mini marshmallows, it’s hard to describe a casserole as “healthier.”
But that’s the beauty of this butternut dish; it doesn’t need a fancy topping to be appealing. It’s tasty plain and golden brown.
If you like pumpkin pie spice, add more than a half teaspoon, which gives just a hint of seasonal spiciness. Or use one or more of this handy spice mixture’s ingredients: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.

Baked butternut squash casserole

Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
Peeled and cubed butternut squash
Butternut squash is peeled, seeded and cubed.
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
¼ cup cream
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine, melted and cooled
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or more if desired)
Instructions:
Steam squash until tender. Mash. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or grease a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together cream and beaten egg.
Mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add to cream mixture.
In a large bowl, combine mashed squash with melted butter. Fold in cream-cornstarch mixture.
Season to taste with salt and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour squash mixture into prepared casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes, until top is golden brown and, when inserted, a thin-bladed knife comes out clean.
Serve warm.
Note: Add to the sweetness, texture or crunch with something extra on top. Possible toppings: Graham cracker crumbs, chopped walnuts or pecans, mini marshmallows. Sprinkle topping over casserole before baking with the exception of marshmallows. Add marshmallows in final 20 minutes of baking to avoid over-browning.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:
farm to form fall recipes fall vegetables Sacramento cooking recipe produce management winter squash butternut squash gardening casserole backyard produce Thanksgiving

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Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

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* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

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* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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