Acorn Squash CrockPot Recipe


Day 279.

Autumn is here, and the grocery stores and produce stands are full of squash and colorful seasonal produce. I love the colors and smells of fall and the cooler weather. I purposely find piles of leafs to crunch through when walking the kids to school---this is a great time of year, and the perfect time to dig out the crockpot.


The hardest thing about this recipe is cutting through the squash. My mom told me (too late, I had already plopped the pieces in the crock) that she usually microwaves squash for a few minutes to soften the skin before cutting. I look forward to trying that next time. I ended up using the little orange serrated knife that comes with the jack o'lantern carving kit to get through the tough skin.


The Ingredients.


--acorn squash
--2 T brown sugar

--2 T butter

--2 tsp cinnamon

--4 pinches of salt

The Directions.


I use a 4 quart crockpot. Cut the squash in quarters, and scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. I gave the innards to the guinea pigs; they were thrilled.

Put 1/2 T of butter and 1/2 T of brown sugar into each quarter. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of cinnamon onto each brown sugar pile. Add a small pinch of salt to each quarter.

Lower the pieces into your crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for about 3. The squash is finished when it is fork tender and peels away from the skin easily.


The Verdict
.


My mom and I ate this, and liked it a lot. I was able to get one kid to try a bite, and she liked it, but I think she mostly got brown sugar. Adam doesn't like squash, but ate a few bites to be nice.

I will make this again. It was simple, tasty, and smelled wonderful. I'll just share with my mom.

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Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at October 05, 2008

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What they say about this article

  1. Sounds great...I love acorn squash!! I usually put parmesan cheese on top, so give that a try sometime! YUM!

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  2. I like to make it by cutting them in half and putting a ball of sausage into it and baking it. Then you eat the squash and sausage together. Yumm!

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  3. Are you going to do another year of crockpotting? I love this blog.
    Patty

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  4. I love squash with mango chutney...ever tried making chutney in the crockpot?

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  5. This is my favorite way to eat squash... with lots of sugar or maple syrup!!

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  6. Anonymous10/05/2008

    mmmm, i love squash, so yummy. can u make something with summer squash or zucchini please? thanks steph!

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  7. Anonymous10/05/2008

    Thank you for posting this!! I was wondering how to do this, so I could make more baby food! We have made a ton of baby food with the crock pot and saved a ton of money thanks to you!! It makes me feel like such an accomplished mommy, and its soooo easy to do!

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  8. I Love acorn squash! I will definitely be making this!

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  9. Do you think this would work with spaghetti squash?

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  10. Anonymous10/05/2008

    Yuuuum I love acorn squash. Actually I love anything with butter and brown sugar baked into it hahaha. But I'm definitely going to try this!!

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  11. Great tip from your mom about nuking before cutting! I'll do that from now it! I usually take my big chef's knife to it "machete" style and hope it lands in the middle for a good cut! Glad to know an easier and safer way!
    Erin

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  12. I just saved another recipe that topped the acorn squash with sausage, cranberries, raisins, chopped apple, pecans, and maple syrup so there are lots of possibilities.

    I had read about the microwave for softening squash, too, but I am always leery as I've had things explode in the microwave. LOL

    Laughed at the comment on your one child enjoying her taste, but it "was mostly brown sugar." That sounds about right. ;-)

    Thanks so much for all your recipes. Love them!

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  13. About this time of year I start living on squash! I've gotten in the habit of microwaving it, but the next time my crockpot is available I'll give your method a try.
    My crockpot's dance card is pretty darn full these days...maybe it's time to invest in another. Thanks again for all the inspiration!

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  14. Sounds yummy!

    One trick I found with cutting acorn squash is to cut the bottom tip off, then start the cut from there. Made it so much easier to cut through!

    I'm really looking forward to seeing some more fall recipes!

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  15. I wish certain members of my family would try something just to be nice . . .

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  16. Yum! I just came across your blog and absolutely love your creativity and variety of ingredients. The shrinky dinks post rocks! I'm on a mission to feed my family healthier and you set a great example!!

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  17. I like a touch of nutmeg on mine with the sugar and butter.

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  18. Hooray hooray hooray!!! I have an acorn squash sitting in the fridge waiting to be used, and now I have a recipe to try it with!

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  19. Anonymous10/05/2008

    Love anything with Acron Squash! Thank you for all your great ideas and effort!

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  20. Thanks,
    I forget how much I like these until I am reminded...I still want to see you try artichokes in the big crock and dipping sauce in the small one - like Hollandaise...(can that be done in a crock?)
    I can't believe I've been following you since almost day one - it's always exciting to see what you will come up with next!

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  21. This is our family's favorite time of year! Thank you SO MUCH for a recipe that I am using TONIGHT!!! This is so much better than having to juggle it last minute, sticking it in the oven and hoping I've timed it right so that the squash is done to perfection.

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  22. I love your blod ! I have been so inspired that I ordered my Crock Pot with Free Little Dipper! Can't wait to get it & start trying out your recipes - please do another year of Crock Potting!

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  23. Anonymous10/06/2008

    Hi everyone,
    I am new to CrockPotting and would like to ask for help. I have a new programmable 6 quart oval Corning crockpot and recently moved. The manual is surely packed in some box, but I need to use the crockpot. If anyone has a manual, I would like to ask a few questions.

    Thank you,
    Janet

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  24. Thanks for this simple and great recipe! Am putting it in right now! Can't wait to eat it!!! Woohooo!

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  25. nom nom nom

    We call this dish "squish" in my house :)

    We usually just microwave it though, it's less work/time than the crockpot...

    But I guess that's not the point of doing a crock-pot recipe each day, eh?

    Thanks for shedding light on the wonders of acorn squash! :)

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  26. I bought 2 acorn squash today after seeing this, I haven't made it in years and living in Texas turning on the oven is really only reasonable 3 months out of the year! Now I can have acorn squash without having to jack up the air conditioner.

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  27. My husband has been in the produce biz for 20 years and I even worked with him for a few. And I always thought that a great invention would be a Hard Squash Guillotine.

    It would work on melons as well.

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  28. Instead of sugar and cinnamon, I use honey, nutmeg, and a tiny bit of ginger. It's so nice, and the ginger adds a bit of zing.

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  29. Just popped mine in the crocky. Can't wait for dinner!

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  30. Thanks for this - I'm making it now! :) Unfortunately, dinner will be late because I let it sit in the crock pot for an hour before I realized it wasn't plugged in. *sigh*

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  31. This was my second dish to try from here and the second one that was really yummy! I am always looking for ways to avoid using my oven, so this came in quite handy. Tell your mom many thanks for the trick about nuking them in the microwave first - it made cutting them a breeze! I actually used carnival, heart of gold and dumpling squash, and they worked fine.

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  32. I love acorn squash. I am the only one in my family that eats it. I cook it with bacon and brown sugar. I find it tastes like candy. ymu-o

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  33. I know I'm a late arrival to the party (I found your blog doing a search for "crockpot applesauce" and found way more than I bargained for! This is AWESOME!!!) I haven't tried it in the crock yet, but when I've made acorn squash in the past I've filled the inside with cut up apples and raisins along with the spices and brown sugar...I can't imagine why it wouldn't work in the crock either. The flavors should all blend nicely...this is one of our standard holiday dishes, and it would be GREAT to make it in the crock and not take up space in an already in-demand oven...!

    THANK YOU for this site! Actually, joining on in earl 2009 is awesome, because I can just look through the huge assortment of recipes and have a ball!

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  34. try this! use a long knife and pound the end with a rubber mallet while hanging on to the handle.

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