Cooking Squash in the Crockpot

Nothing says fall like a delicious winter squash. The tender orange flesh is so good when it is roasted covered with butter and brown sugar. It is hard to make on busy weeknights, however, because squash can take up to an hour to bake. Did you know that your crockpot cannot only cook you a nice roast while you are away, but it can also handle squash? It is true! You can have your delicious winter squash cooking merrily away while you are at work or running errands. Make a quick main dish to go with it and dinner is ready, complete with a great vegetable.

Remember that setting your crockpot to High generally cooks twice as fast as the Low setting. If you are going to be out all day, set it to Low so your food is not overdone. The general rule of thumb is that if a food takes 8 hours to cook on Low, it will be done in 4 hours on High. For most slow cookers, Low is approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit, while High is about 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Your particular model may vary slightly. Try to resist the temptation to lift the lid. Each time you do, it adds 20 minutes to your cooking time. Crockpots can be used for many types of dishes like this. You can also use them for desserts and even for baking. There is a lot more to crockpots than meets the eye.

You can use other types of winter squash in this recipe if you do not have butternut. Acorn, Hubbard and many other varieties of winter squash all taste great in this recipe. If you really want to jazz it up a bit, put some bacon in there with the squash. Using your crockpot is also a great way to prepare squash on Thanksgiving while the oven is otherwise occupied. You can always jazz up your squash by adding some carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas so you can make a true winter vegetable medley. Make the most of your crockpot and use it for more than just stews and main dishes!

Recipe for Butternut Squash with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

This is a simple way to get tender, delicious squash.

What You Need

• 
  1 large butternut squash


• 
  1 cup apple juice


• 
  4 Tablespoons butter, melted


• 
  1/4 cup packed brown sugar


• 
  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

How to Make It

Cut the butternut squash into quarters lengthwise. Cut off the stem and scoop out the seeds.

Pour apple juice into your crockpot.

Mix the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Place two quarters of the squash in the bottom of the crockpot. Drizzle half of your butter mixture over the squash.

Set the remaining two quarters of squash on top of the first two crosswise. Drizzle with the remaining butter mixture.

Cover and cook on the Low setting for 6 to 8 hours. Squash should be tender when done.

Serves 4.