Parmesan Butternut Squash Gratin

I picked up a copy of Betty Crocker’s Best Ever Thanksgiving magazine last month and it’s full of recipes that I’ve been wanting to test/try before the Thanksgiving holiday.  I marked 5  recipes and then took the magazine to the grocery store – where I shopped from the ingredients lists – yes, I was that lazy… couldn’t even make a separate shopping list. It’s been a long week and it’s only Wednesday.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Butternut Squash – the recipe called for 2.5 lbs – I was the only one eating, so I stuck to a 1 lb pre-cut bag
1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine – I used butter
2 Large Cloves of Garlic – I cheated and ended up using frozen, but the bulb looks pretty in the photo 😉
1/4 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1/3 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 Teaspoon Salt – I didn’t measure
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper – I didn’t measure
1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley – I used a lot less

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray glass baking dish with cooking spray. Add butternut squash.

In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add garlic; cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until butter is infused with garlic flavor. Do not let the butter brown.

In small bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of the butter-garlic mixture.

Brush squash slices with remaining butter-garlic mixture.

Give them a good coating and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add the bread crumb/cheese mixture to the top.

Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Mine took the full 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F; bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Mine needed the full 10 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle fresh parsley over the top.

I loved the texture…

the taste…

and the new black and white bowl I picked up at HomeGoods for $1.99. New dishes and placemats make me happy.

I will definitely be making this through the fall and winter months. Two thumbs up, it makes the rotation. Next time I might try it as the recipe suggested – cutting my own butternut squash. Peel, halve lengthwise and seed squash; cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange with slices overlapping slightly in bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish. Who am I kidding? Mid-week – it’s all about convenience and the pre-packaged cubes.

Butternut Squash – Is it a vegetable or a fruit? Ding…ding…it’s a fruit.

If you are selecting your own butternut squash – you want to look for those that have hard, tough rinds and ones that are heavy for their size. I got my pre-packaged butternut squash at Trader Joe’s – but my regular grocery store has it too. It’s just more expensive.

Happy Squashing,