Butternut Squash with Plum Sauce

This recipe works best if you grow your own butternut squash, or have access to fresh butternut squash from a local farmers market or growers market (or a nice neighbor).  Store-bought butternut squash just doesn’t taste as good because they’re older.  But if that's all you can find, this recipe should spice them up a bit.

Stuffed, baked Butternut squash

We also grow our own Chickasaw plums, but you can use any kind.  

 

Fresh-picked Chickasaw plums from our garden.

Ingredients

2 medium butternut squash

5 tbl. butter, softened

garlic powder

ground black pepper

4 strips bacon, cut in half

3 medium red potatoes

olive oil spray

20 Chickasaw plums, skinned and pitted

1 tbl. brown sugar

sea salt

ground black pepper

1 tsp. baking powder

Parmesan cheese

 

Directions

·         Heat oven to 375°

·         cut butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds

·         cut several diagonal hash-marks through the squash meaty part in several directions, about ½” deep

·         push 2 tbl. of the softened butter down into the hash-marks and into the cup where the seeds were removed

·         sprinkle the squash generously with garlic powder and black pepper & top each squash with half a strip of bacon (making sure some gets down into the cup part)

·         poke the potatoes several times with a fork, then place directly on the oven rack

·         put squash on a baking sheet sprayed with olive oil spray, and put in the oven with the potatoes

·         bake both the squash and potatoes at the same time, about one hour

·         put the skinned/seeded plums into a small saucepan and add the brown sugar

·         cook the plums over medium-low until thickened, then remove from heat and set aside for later use

·         remove squash and potatoes from the oven

·         remove the bacon slices and set aside for later use

·         scoop out the meat from the butternuts (reserving the skin) leaving about 1/8” of meat inside the skins

·         cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides (discard the potato skins)

·         add the potatoes and squash to a large mixing bowl, then and add 2 tbl. of butter, salt & pepper to taste, baking powder, and plum sauce.

·         Chopped the reserved bacon slices and add to the potato mixture and mix well like mashed potatoes.

·         Stuff the mixture into the butternut squash shells

·         Top each squash with 2 tsp. butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

·         Bake at 350° for 30 minutes

·         Broil for 4 minutes until the tops are lightly browned

·         Serve hot