Your smile is as sweet as butter…nut!

Written by on in The Lazy Chef, Tidbits and Treats

It’s the weekend! I hope that you have been able to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely Saturday morning filled with the smells of fresh pancakes or omelettes or some other exceptional breakfast food 🙂 Thank you for your get well wishes. I’m still feeling a little run down but overall the symptoms are much improved and I’m hoping I will be back to normal by the end of the weekend. For now, I’m taking advantage of the sick feeling and lounging around in my PJ’s!

My lack of appetite due to feeling sick made for some very boring meals, indeed, this week! I believe it’s one of the worst “symptoms” because food no longer becomes enjoyable. However, there were a few highlights – like that Humbecue Tortilla Pizza! – and I will take the next few posts to show them to you!

Today’s post is my contribution to this week’s Blogger Secret Ingredient. By the way, I am super impressed with all of the entries so far! Each of them have literally made me say “Ooh!” out loud. I’m not kidding – you can ask my roommate for confirmation 😉 Keep ’em coming! Although it’s making my job as judge rather difficult, so that’s what Bobby is for!

For my recipe, I debated between making something savory or sweet. It was late morning when I was making this decision, and since my sweet tooth is at its peak during the earlier hours of the day, I’m sure you can guess which of the two I decided on 🙂 So I grabbed Mr. Butternut and we set off on our culinary quest – you can cue the dramatic music here.

Your Smile is as Sweet as Butter…Nut

Isn’t he just precious? Ok, let’s get down to business.

Ingredients (serves 2):

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 1/8 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tbsp. Promise Light Buttery spread
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • Cinnamon, to taste
  • 2 tbsp. fat-free whipped cream

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*

Begin by heating up the butternut squash in the microwave for four minutes in order to soften it up enough to be cut in half. Once it’s done heating up, cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds and strings.

Place butternut squash cut side up in a pan greased with cooking spray. Top with 1 tsp. olive oil and as much cinnamon as you desire.

Bake at 375* for 30-40 minutes (I split the difference at 35 minutes). Remove from the oven and let cool completely before handling – don’t burn your fingers!

In a big bowl, combine almond milk, Promise, and brown sugar. Heat mixture in the microwave for roughly 30 seconds, or until butter is melted and a consistent liquid texture is achieved.

Once the butternut squash is cooled, scoop out the insides and add them to the big bowl. Be careful not to damage the outer shell – you’ll see why later!

Mix all ingredients together until butternut squash is completely coated with the sweet ingredients. Then place half of the mixture (or roughly 1 cup) back into one of the outer shell pieces. It acts as a bowl so that there is less clean up required 🙂 Cool, huh? Top the “butternut squash bowl” with more cinnamon and a whipped cream smiley face!

Voila! You’ve just made yourself an incredibly sweet and healthy treat that has a smile as sweet as butter…nut.

It’s almost too cute to eat. Almost. But in terms of taste, this was absolutely wonderful! It was my first time trying butternut squash and I will definitely be using it in recipes more often during the upcoming colder months. I can’t wait to experiment with the savory side of the spectrum, as well!

So there you have my entry into this week’s Blogger Secret Ingredient contest! You can save the other 1/2 of the squash for leftovers!

Nutrition Information (per serving):

  • 210 calories
  • 10g fat
  • 32g carbohydrates
  • 2g fiber
  • 2g protein

~*~

Remember, there’s still time to submit your own recipe!! Entries are due tomorrow (Sunday) evening, and I will announce the winner on Monday. Although you’re all winners in my book 😉 It’s going to be so hard to choose!

One final announcement! Recently Heather @ Hangry Pants and I were discussing the need to clear out our closets! We’ve decided to give ourselves that extra push by clearing them out at the same time! So next Sunday, October 12, I will be posting about my rummaging adventures on the blog. I’m planning on donating clothes and other miscellaneous items – and anyone else who wants to do this with us can join in!! I’m a bit of a pack rat <- understatement of the year, so this will be quite the challenge for me!

I’m off to do some more laying around 🙂 It’s time for me to catch up on my blog reading! I hope to find some more Blogger Secret Ingredient recipes as I peruse the blogosphere!

Happy Saturday, lovely readers!

30 Comments

  1. HOORAY FOR THE WEEKEND!! I do hope that you continue to get well, my friend 🙂

    CUUUUUTE bitternut squash dish, indeed!! And delicious too.

    Oh man, I need to clean out my closets too – thanks for the reminder, haha 😉

    Enjoy the rest of your day!!

  4. it sounds divine!! wow. and pretty simple too. i’m actually in the middle of prepping for my BSI entry RIGHT NOW 😀 😀

  6. glad to hear you’re starting to feel a little better! hope you’re 100% soon!

    adn i love the happy squash!

    i’m using my secret ingredient tonight. so wait for that one!

    and i’m wish you on cleaning out! i actually already have a pile of pants to go out but i’m sure i have more…till the 12th!

  8. awww he is precious!!!
    but i would eat him, too 😀
    so i was at the commisscary today and grabbing some veggies, but did not pick up a butternut because with all the homework/project/studying i have to do, i don’t think i’ll have time to create any culinary delights 🙁 i’ll just live vicariously through all of the other submissions!
    enjoy your saturday!!!

  11. I love the clean out the closet idea! I DESPERATELY need to do that… and buy some new clothes, but that is a whole other issue…

  12. That loooks really good. I am sorry I did not get to make anything with Butternut Squash this week. My recipe mojo has been lacking.

    Can’t wait to gather up all those clothes!

  13. Love your butternut squash man! He reminds me of Mr. Potato Head! 🙂

    I’ll be submitting an entry tomorrow evening…hope that’s not too late!

  18. ooooh that looks SO GOOD! Butternut squash is one of my favorite veggies but it’s just such a pain in the butt to peel/cut. At my grocery store at home they actually have butternut squash cubes presliced so keep your eyes open for that (except then you lose the pretty presentation!)

    I’m glad you’re feeling better. Being sick is the worse ESPECIALLY because you don’t feel like eating. I experienced that this weekend too, but my appetite is back and ROARING now so I’m feeding it plenty!

    Enjoy your Sunday!

  19. you are so creative its not even CLOSE to funny! it makes me so jealous! :oD if its possiblr, i think you might win your own contest! have an awsome rest of the weekend!

  20. yum yum yum. i have a spaghetti sqaush in the oven! it’s been forever since I’ve had butterenut though. acorn was always my fav. variety!

    HAPPY SUNDAY LOVE!

  21. Hi Jenn–
    Your butternut squash looks delicious! Due to my sickness this week, I really didn’t get a chance to participate in the contest…I will use some of the entrants’ ideas next week, perhaps? However, I DID have butternut squash this week–I mixed it canned into my oats and yogurt last Sunday and Monday. Does that count as a recipe?!
    Enjoy your Sunday:)

  22. Oooh he’s too cute! Will you marry me, Mr. B?

    So Sarah gave the recipe to you, too? Haha I don’t even know who she is, but I am so flattered that she’s been sending my recipe around the blogworld… plus, it’s one of my favorite recipes, so she has good taste.

  23. i love how you always make your food super cute to eat!! I would almost feel bad eating smiley mr. butternut squash 😉 it looks absolutely delicious though!!

  25. YUUUUUMMMMM. That recipe sounds absolutely perfect. I picked up a butternut squash today and now I know exactly what I’m doing with it.

    I cannot wait to see your rummaging adventures. I need to do a little bit of that too. I never manage to be very successful with it though. I’m terrible at getting rid of stuff. 🙁

  27. TOO cute! Love the checky title – it’s totally something I would come up with! I can’t wait to see all the rest of the recipes!!

  28. Good idea regarding the closet! I think I might join in your challenge and rummage through 🙂 I just color-coded mine and realized all the clothes I NEVER wear anymore.

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