Easy & Delicious: Baked Squash!

I love squash but honestly I do not have the time to wash it, cut it, gut it, peel it, chop it, just to be able to cook it! Luckily I figured out a way to get the same creamy hot baked goodness with limited prep time: just poke some holes it, throw it on a foil lined baking sheet, and bake the darn thing whole!

The results have been impressive! So far I have tried this with a BIG almost 6lb kabocha, a small pumpkin, and a HUGE spaghetti squash.

The baking time depends on its size and thickness of skin, but the temp I always use is 350 degrees.

For the kabocha I poked some deep holes in the top and cooked it for 1 hour. Then I flipped it over and cooked it for 30 minutes more.

When it came out I let it cool and then I sliced it like pie and easily scraped off the seeds and stringy parts. There was so much that I cut it all in slices and stored the extra in the refrigerator.

It was great for a quick snack for the baby, or a yummy treat for me. To warm it back up you can take out a slice and cover it in coconut oil or butter and throw it under the broiler for a little bit.

The other great thing about baking the squash whole this way it the benefit of warming your kitchen or in my case the kitchen and living room. There are some bonuses to having a small house sometimes!

This is also a great way to collect all of your squash seeds to save for roasting!

Last night I warmed our house baking one of our decoration pumpkins left over from Halloween. I poked some holes in the top and baked it 45 minutes and then turned it on one side and baked it for about 20 minutes more.

As you can see from the pictures below Jad was VERY happy about his fresh pumpkin treat this morning! I even threw some of it into an omelet I made him for his 2nd course and he happily gobbled that up too. I am sure Ma would approve!