Basic Butternut Squash, Safely

I really do like the taste of butternut squash.  I really don't like wrestling with it, with a huge knife in hand, to try and prepare it.  I honestly prepare them so rarely because I'm truly afraid of hurting myself with a large knife in the process.  Problem solved.  In the easiest way possible.

Equipment you will need:

• Baking Sheet
• Aluminum Foil
• Fork
• BUTTER Knife (get it? butternut squash)

All the equipment you will need, minus the butter knife.  If you don't have a knife and fork, you have problems bigger than knowing how to safely roasting butternut squash.  Just saying.

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut Squash - mine was probably 2-2.5, if yours is smaller, your bake time will likely be less.  You might just have to keep a closer eye on it!

This was honestly probably a foot long, and I'm not just saying that because Subway succeeded with their "Footlong" marketing campaign.  Massive.

 Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350
• Line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil
• Poke your Butternut Squash with a fork.  Everywhere.  Really, everywhere.  I didn't do it evenly on all sides and one side was a little harder to peel.  I think that poking the holes allows air to get under the skin, so it bubbles and then peels right off without a hitch.  I'm not really sure about the physics of the "air --> bubbles --> peeling" process though.  I'm not even sure if it's physics that we are talking about.
• Put the Butternut Squash on the foil lined cookie sheet and place it in the oven
• Bake for 30 minutes to an hour.  That's a huge range, I know.  If your squash is small, 4-6inches and around a pound, closer to 30 minutes.  Big like mine was, closer to an hour.
• After about 30 minutes, poke it with a fork again - you want the fork to easily poke the flesh, and sink deeply into it.  That sounds so dirty, #woah
• Once it's soft (now everything sounds inappropriate), take it out of the oven and let it cool on the cookie sheet for about 20 minutes, or until it's cool enough to handle

Roasty, toasty with bubbled skin, #physics

• Peel the skin with your fingers (I cannot handle myself)
• Cut the squash in half length-wise, scoop out the seeds and chop the squash into whatever size chunks you want!

Don't throw the seeds away!!!

• Use in your next recipe!  I will share a few too...upcoming posts :)