Many of the current magazines show all kinds of wonderful vegetable dishes, but most take considerable time and effort to cook or use weird, expensive, or hard-to-find veggies. Not so this recipe for a Butternut Squash Bake with Cranberry Crumble. It's perfect for fall and uses time-saving frozen vegetables, which also tend to be cheaper. The squash are naturally sweet, and a touch of warm spice and some orange juice brings out their flavor. The topping of oats, dried cranberries, and a bit of brown sugar provides a crunchy-sweet-tart foil for the creamy squash. Microwaving the squash and then adding the topping before baking the casserole saves time and hassle.
I wanted to show you a great picture of the squash bake, but, alas, it was not to be. Hunger took over before the photo shoot. The plates were loaded, and the Butternut Squash Bake shown here (sort of) is hidden under my husband's peas. Nonetheless, be assured, the Bake went well with the peas, salad, rolls, and Apple-Cranberry-Rhubarb Turkey Cutlets (please stay tuned for more on those later!).
Butternut Squash Bake With Cranberry Crumble -- Serves 4
1 16 ounce package of frozen butternut squash cubes (or use 2 8-10 ounce packages of squash puree)
2 tablespoons of orange juice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1 tablespoon of butter or Smart or Earth Balance
Crumble
1/2 cup of oats
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
2 tablespoons of butter or Smart of Earth Balance
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a small casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the frozen squash to the dish and cook the squash in the microwave as directed on the package. Stir in the orange juice, salt, and spice. Mix all the crumble ingredients together with a fork until some of the pieces cling together in pea-size pieces. Sprinkle the crumble over the cooked squash. Bake the squash for about 20 minutes or until the topping is bubbly and golden.