Oven Roasted Squashes

There is a plural for squash- who knew?

I love oven roasted squash. And squashes. I used to use only Pepper squash, cutting it into wedges and massaging it with butter. A sprinkle of black pepper and popped it into a 450F-475F oven. However, no one but me (I?) enjoyed the roasted skin.

Then one day I fell in love with Butternut squash, but that meant I had to peel the stuff. Fine for the rest of the bunch, much more work for me. But just about everyone ate it, instead of just me and my husband making the effort to surgically remove the pepper squash from it's skin.

So now I mix Butternut and Pepper squashes, but you can use any mix of squashes you like.

Oven Roasted Squashes

Preheat oven to 450F-475F.

Open, discard the seeds of, and peel 2 or 3 good sized squashes of your choice (more of less depending on how many people you're feeding). I've never tried it with Spaghetti squash, I would think it's too stringy.

Cube the squashed into about 1/2" to 1" cubes.

Grease a large roasting dish - I like to use a glass Pyrex dish - and toss in the cubed squash.

Take some butter, about 1/4 C to 1/3 C, and put chunks of the butter on top of the squash in various points in the dish. Grind some black pepper over top, sprinkle with salt to taste.

Cook for about 45-60 minutes, mixing the squash about every 10 minutes to distribute the butter, salt and black pepper. This also helps to bring the bottom squash to the top to get nicely browned.

If your oven is hotter it may take a shorter time to cook to your desired taste.