Baked Winter Squash and Apples

Just because we aren't having much of a fall does not mean that I'm going to skip out on fall baking! We grow squash every year, one kind being winter squash (Long Island Cheese and Australian Butter). Almost every winter squash recipe I could find called for Butternut, but I'm assuming that most squashes are comparable and can be substitued for one another. I used the Long Island Cheese for this recipe. In fact, I made a few alterations, but you can find the original recipe here.

My next squash-goal is to make some soup or chili. I've already started looking up recipes, and hopefully will find time over Thanksgiving weekend to try them out. Last year, I wasn't into baking yet and was pretty wasteful. I used a squash as decoration for awhile, then left it on my back porch for a month or two too long. When I finally went to pick it up and throw it away, the stem came off and it pretty much imploded. Not this year!


Ingredients
*Depending onthe size of your squash, you might want to tweak these measurements a bit. I'm guessing the squash I used was about 3 pounds.


1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 Tbs salted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
2 pounds butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 or 3 large apples - cored, and cut into medium pieces
Cinnamon (enough to sprinkle on the top)

Directions

Remove the stem, then wash and cut your squash in half. (The original recipe called for peeling the squash, but that doesn't work too well with this kind.) It is easiest to only cut in a quarter inch or so at first, going all the way around. Once done, you can go back and fully cut it in half. This helps to keep the two halves even sized.

Once cut, scoop out all the guts thoroughly, so the inside of the squash is "clean". Using a regular metal spoon works best.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, butter, flour, salt, and mace.

Absolutely delicious!

Arrange squash in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish (Or whichever size it fits in, really; I needed to use two dishes). Pour about 1/4 cup water into the dish to help keep the squash moist when baking. Top with slices of apple, then pour on the sugar mixture, tossing the apples until they are coated.

Sprinkle with cinnamon (to taste). Cover dish(es) with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Serve with a side dish (I sauteed some fresh spinach) and enjoy!