Roasted Squash

It's been a bit of a crazy weekend.  Jon worked 32 hours from Thursday to Saturday.  Blech.  Not fun for Moi, but I suppose I have it easy compared to most people, so I should probably stop complaining. 

The exhaustion felt at the end of Friday and Saturday didn't really make me feel like blogging, sorry.  Sunday we had leftovers, thank goodness!

I wasn't really sure if the menu items on Friday and Saturday were all that exciting anyways.  Tuna noodle Casserole and Spaghetti?  Those are pretty standard right?  Well, I'm not sure about the tuna noodle casserole, or as my strange family calls it "fettucine".  Maybe I'll blog about that recipe sometime.  Who knew things made with egg noodles could be called fettucine?  Hee hee! Well actually I didn't even use egg noodles like the recipe calls for.  I went with whole wheat rotini.

Tonight's dinner was rather un-inspiring as well.  Breaded pork chops, garlic bread, salad, and roasted sweet dumpling squash.  Well, un-inspiring except for the squash! 

Squash is so simple. I'd never had squash until Jon and I started courting.  His mom made it one time and I stared at it in confusion unsure of what to do.  I had to be shown the whole butter and brown sugar treatment.  But with the first bite, I was in love. 

Since that first time, I'm a squash convert.  For some reason I always look for the same type of squash too.  I've never branched out.  I guess I'm afraid other squash will just taste funny or something.  But I always get sweet dumpling squash.  Yum.

Here's how I prepare it.

1.  Slice a sweet dumpling squash in half.

2.  Lay the two pieces cut side down in a casserole dish.

3.  Put in a cold oven and turn it to 400 degrees(saves enegery!).  It should be done between 45 minutes to an hour. 



Don't worry, it's not burned.  The shell is just a little on the brown side.  Everything else was cooked to perfection and even had a bit of nice caramelization!



4.  Scoop out the seeds and serve with a dab of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar. 



I know, not a gorgeous picture, but it was sooooo good.



Tonight I wasn't even able to eat half of mine.  A certain little toddler boy stole the other half and was still screaming for more.  Ha ha! 

Does it work with other squash?  Is any squash good for roasting this way?  Tell me people, I'm incredibly inexperienced with squash, but if they all taste this good I'd better start branching out!

Oh and I also learned a new trick for making breaded pork chops in the oven from this recipe. Don't worry, I didn't use that recipe.  1/4c of butter?  Crazy talk.  I only used the method.  That was our meat portion for tonight.  If you dot the chops with butter (around the chops too) and then cover it while it cooks it'll be more moist and tender.  If you like the breading crispy take the cover off 15 minutes before they finish!  Worked like a charm.  Crispy breading, tender chops.  Yum.  Didn't get a good shot of them on a plate, but I'm sure you all know what a breaded pork chop looks like.





In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Dear God,

thank you for my husband's job.  Thank you for the food on our table, the roof over our heads, and medical insurance.  Please help me be more patient when his job requires incredibly long days.  Amen.