Wicked Butternut Squash Casserole

I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe, because some things are just too good to share. But, my mom has been asking me for a couple of weeks to write it up for her so I figured I’d put it here, too.

To be fair, this is not *MY* recipe. I didn’t come up with it. My boss actually introduced me to this dish a few months ago and until that time, I had never actually even HAD butternut squash. Earlier in the summer, she got me addicted to “flying saucer” squash from her garden and then the butternut squash casserole.

I love my boss 🙂

Okay, this…..is a butternut squash.

Don’t let the outside fool you, this is a beauty of a squash ;^)

Butternut squash is cuh=razy good for you. Just one serving of butternut squash is chock-full of Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and contains over 350% the recommended daily value of Vitamin A – yes, that’s three hundred and fifty percent! It’s also loaded with calcium, potassium and – something that’s very important to my anemic behind – *IRON*!! Butternut squash contains no saturated fats or cholesterol which is nice because I’m sure the rest of this recipe makes up for that – lol 🙂

Ingredients:
1 lg. butternut squash
2 cans of cream of celery soup
Milk
Water
1 yellow onion, diced
1 box of your favorite Stove Top stuffing (I use Savory Herb)
1 tbsp of butter
*Fresh ground black pepper (optional)

Okay, you might have read that the skin of the butternut squash is thick, hard and inedible. I would have to assume that depends on how you cook it because I have yet to come across that problem. But do make sure you have a strong knife that’s comfortable for you as the actual flesh of the squash can be difficult to cut. I’ve been told that baking the squash for about 30 minutes before cutting it up makes it a little easier but I don’t find it to be that much of a hassle.

Procedure:

1. Wash and lightly peel the skin of the butternut squash – I personally do a quick peel around the squash just making sure to remove any imperfections.
2. Split the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
3. Carefully cut the squash into small cubes – about an inch seems to work well – and set aside.
4. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and quickly saute onion just until softened.
5. Add cubed squash to the sauce pan and stir.
6. Add the two cans of cream of celery soup.
7. Use a can to measure out 1 and half cans of milk (obviously, this doesn’t have to be exact)
8. Stir well and make sure that all of the squash is covered with the soup.
9. *Add black pepper and incorporate well.
10. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
11. Once the squash is ready, prepare the Stove Top stuffing.
12. Lightly scatter about half of the stuffing on the bottom of a casserole dish.
13. I use a slatted spoon to transfer the squash to the casserole dish, reserving the soup in the pot.
14. Distribute the rest of the stuffing across the layer of squash.
15. Carefully and evenly pour soup over the top layer of stuffing.
16. Bake at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes and enjoy! (Top with shredded carrots if you like ;^)

*The black pepper is completely up to you, I am trying to use more black pepper in my diet and I do like it in this dish. I did not think any additional salt was necessary with this dish, but to each his own.

One important thing to remember is to make sure the squash is covered with the soup in the sauce pan – depending which pot I’m using – and how big of a squash I bought – the 2 cans of soup and 1.5 cans of milk is just right. If you find that your soup is a little low you can either add some more milk or, if you prefer, some water…..I use water.

This casserole really is to die for and the best part of it is that it’s not overloaded with a ton of spices that hide the flavor of the squash. Boss lady says this recipe works great with ANY squash, but at the moment, I haven’t gotten over my love affair with the butternut yet ;^)