Nix9to5

Toddler Meals, Part Two: Baked Butternut Squash

// April 7th, 2010 // Children and Babies, Cooking

Before I give you this recipe, I feel like I need to come clean about something.  In “Toddler Meals, Part One,” I said that I didn’t want Bear to eat a steady diet of mac ‘n’ cheese and fish sticks.  Well, the very next day, he had macaroni and cheese for lunch and fish sticks for dinner.  I felt like I had lied to you, even though I didn’t say he never ate those things . . . just that I don’t want him to eat them all the time.  We even keep Gerber Graduates toddler meals on hand for when Mom is too busy (or too tired) to cook something, even though I think they have too much sodium.  So while I want to feed Bear nothing but super-healthy things, I am–just like you–a busy mom doing the best I can.

Okay, now that’s over, so here is the butternut squash recipe.  I adapted it from a recipe I found on Cooks.com.  I thought the recipe had too much butter and sugar in it, so I tweaked it a little.

Here is what you’ll need:

Just get a butternut squash, a super sharp knife (because these things area  beast to chop), a vegetable peeler, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg (which I forgot to put in the picture).  You can also sprinkle a little lemon juice on the squash, but I not only forgot to photograph it, I forgot to use it.  Sometimes I put it in there, sometimes not–I can’t really tell much difference.

Peel the butternut squash.  This is a royal pain in the neck, but you’ll get a ton of squash out of it, so it’s worth it in the long run.  Then cut it in half lengthwise.  Don’t even think about using a serrated knife.  Oh, my goodness, that was nearly impossible the time I tried it.  Once you have cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and fibers–a spoon will work, but a melon baller is awesome for this.

Slice the squash, cut it into cubes, and toss it in a baking dish coated with nonstick spray.  It looks like a big dish full of cheese cubes, which is kind of exciting to think about.

Sprinkle the squash with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar, and stir to coat.  Dot with butter.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 45 mins.   This makes your house smell fantastic, by the way.

After the squash bakes, stir it up again to make sure the seasonings and melted butter are more evenly distributed.

I put the squash into small Ziploc containers, stick a few in the fridge and a few in the freezer.  I used a pretty small squash and got six 1/2 cup servings.

I hope your little one likes this, and if not, it’s pretty yummy for mommies, too!  If you don’t care as much about the amount of sugar or butter in it, you can make it like the original recipe which I linked to above.  I’m sure it is even more delicious that way.