butternut squash recipes – Trading Paper Crowns

Taylor and I had a little harvest dinner last night. I like to have fish once a week, so this seasoned salmon with homemade dill sauce was perfect.

But the show stopper was the garlic spaghetti squash. I made a believer out of my boyfriend who typically hates squash. So, this gluten free, veggie dish has to be pretty stellar.

It literally did not take me that much time to whip this together. Went to the local Trader Joe’s and bought a $1.99 squash and the rest is culinary history.

You will need: 1 large spaghetti squash, 2 cloves minced garlic, ¼ chopped onion, ¼ cup half and half creamer, ½ cup chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste.

First, cut the squash in half. This might take some time – the exterior is pretty tough. Place the flesh side down on a baking sheet. Set the oven to 375 and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Once the squash is tender, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Then scrape the seeds and darker orange out of the center. With a fork, scrap out the spaghetti like noodle flesh from the side of the squash into a cooking bowl. Let cool.

Happy Camper!

Splash some olive oil in a frying pan and add in the minced garlic and chopped onion. Sauté for a bit then add in the squash flesh. Slowly add in chicken broth and creamer. Salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for about 15 minutes on the stove!

I will make this again!

I let the insides cool in the fridge for about an hour. Then placed the spaghetti flesh back in one side of the squash shell and lined the top with fresh mozzarella cheese. I placed the whole thing in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes to warm up and melt the cheese on top.

If you are a pasta lover, but, sadly, gluten free – this is the dish for you. I tried to recreate a wonderful dish I had in New York last month on a business trip.

That dish was not gluten free (shame on me). And, I felt horrible after eating it – but it was delicious.

However, this gluten free gnocchi (made from scratch, mind you) was just as good!

I used butternut squash because I had it in the kitchen. Yet, I feel like it is a little bit lighter than potatoes and tastes just as good. So, c’mon cooks, this is a process; but, you will feel like a bonafide chef afterward. Seriously.

You will need: 1 butternut squash, dash of cinnamon, 1 tbsp. poultry seasoning or sage, 1 cage free egg, dash of ground red pepper, dash of salt and pepper, dash of olive oil, 2 ¼ cups of gluten free all-purpose baking flour. And a mix of pesto sauce. If you don’t have this or don’t want to buy a mix, read how to make it – here.

First, cut the squash in half and scoop out all the seeds. You do not want to bake those. Preheat the oven to 400. Set the squash on a lined cooking tray (fleshy side up) and sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper across the meat of the squash. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

After the squash is done. Let it cool a little while – and scoop out the flesh. You can either mash it up with a big fork or put it in the food processor. I put it in the food processor. Empty the mashed up meat of the squash into a large cooking bowl.

Add in egg, poultry seasoning, cinnamon, red pepper and 1 cup of gluten free flour. Stir this up. And gradually add in the remaining flour until your mixture is thick and creates a nice little ball. You may need to add more flour. Use your judgment on this.

Make sure there is a boiling pot of hot water on the stove. Let it boil for a little bit – while you fashion your gnocchi pieces. You want the pot super boiling hot!

The uncooked gnocchi should look like this. Photo courtesy of: 101 Cookbooks

Roll out the dough ball on wax paper coated with flour (similar to cookies). I rolled the dough into two long ropes – and sliced the rope in little pieces with a cutting knife. Then pressed my fork into the dough making a nice little line design – like peanut butter cookies!

You are almost done – drop the dough pieces one at a time into the boiling pot of hot water. I would not cook more than a dozen at a time. They cook for about 4 minutes – then will float at the top of the pot when done.

After all the gnocchi is done – coat with your pesto. And, you have a gluten free masterpiece made from scratch! Viola!