Holiday Mashed Butternut Squash

I planted one mound of Butternut squash in our garden for 2009.  I left only three plants to remain on the mound for growing.

This is what we ended up with - on only the first picking!

The best place for storing squash is down in your basement.  This particular squash tends to become more flavorful if left down in the basement for a few months.  I waited three months before peeling the first squash.

As you can see - I had a lot of squash to put up for the winter - even after sharing with others!  I spent two days peeling squash - chopping - boiling - mashing - measuring and stuffing into FoodSaver bags - before hauling them down to the freezer!

Holiday Mashed Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
3 cups Butternut Squash ( I’d say 1 good-size squash )
6 Tbl. Butter or Margarine ( the whole stick, if you must! )
2 Tbl. Light Brown Sugar
¼ cup Eggnog
¾ cup Toasted Chopped Pecans (chopped)
Just a Pinch of Cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt (optional - or more - depending on your own preferences)

Instructions:
Trust me.  Skipping excess clean-up is so worth the effort to peel the squash!

Peel the squash with a potato peeler.  Slice into 1-inch chunks ( as much as possible ) and boil in water - just as you do for mashed white potatoes.

Squash is ready when you can pierce it with a fork.  Drain and mash ( in the same pan ) just as you do for white mashed potatoes.

Return mashed squash to stove.  On medium heat - add all the other ingredients.  Stir occasionally - make sure it doesn’t begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.

And stop dipping that spoon from the pot to your lips!

Squash is ready when it’s completely melted - melded - nice and hot!