Halloween Squash Recipe – Baked Squash Monster

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Most people carve pumpkins this time of year, however, sometimes you need a more unique and creepy-er decoration.

It just so happens you can depend on a big ole bumpy misshapen Hubbard squash to become the ultimate baked Squash Monster.

Baking after carving gives them a wrinkly-er, ogre-esque look.

Mine isn’t the creepy-est, but you get the idea, and I bet you could come up with something even more monster-y!

The great thing about these creatures is they double as a yummy and nutritious Halloween squash recipe too!

My sister came up with this creative decoration/dish. She’s so creative!

Last year she made two of them for her grandsons.

After the boys enjoyed them as monsters, the whole family had a feast of them as a side dish on their Thanksgiving table. So they aren’t just for Halloween!

Think of the other fun harvest-y things you could carve in them to start conversation and entertain your guests for Thanksgiving!

Just about any squash would work to carve a fun monster or other design. Experiment and have fun! And there is no need to cut it open and de-seed it before baking. You’ll do that later, when you’re prepping it to eat.

Carefully carve the squash with whatever tool(s) you normally carve a pumpkin with.

NOTE: The deeper the carving, the more the flesh will sink in when baking. When I carved mine, I only dug into the skin about a quarter of an inch.

When you’re finished carving your design, bake at 350 degrees for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the squash.

The bigger the squash, the longer it will take.

Check the squash flesh every 30 minutes with a fork. (Do it in the back where it won’t ruin your design.) When it’s fork tender, it’s ready.

When it cools, display it. After using it for a decoration, cut it open, remove the seeds, and then scrape the squash flesh from the skin. Cut it up or puree it. Season your favorite way and enjoy!

You can make it:

Savory – with Salt and Pepper

Or

Sweet – with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon (Some even like it re-baked with marshmallows on it.)

Or

You can get fancy and make a pie. I love the Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe. NOTE that their recipe lists a 15 oz can of pumpkin. Just substitute 2 cups of pureed squash for the pumpkin. (2 cups is just a little bit more than a 15 oz. can.)

Another one of my favorite things to make is squash bread. The link I just gave you is for Betty Crocker’s Banana bread, but I use that recipe for all the quick breads I make. (Banana, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, etc.) Just substitute the same amount of squash in place of the banana. Just a couple weeks ago I made some with acorn squash and chopped apples. Yum!

There are so many options!

Here’s to more carving with SQUASH!

Sheri

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