Freezing Butternut Squash

Freezing Butternut Squash
(File Photo)

Autumn brings many beautiful shades of red, yellow, orange and rust colored leaves.  Whenever we look out our windows, drive down our streets doing errands or take a walk in the neighborhood, it's a great treat to see all of these colors.  These days when we return home there is a bushel of orange colored Butternut Squash waiting in our garage.  Waiting? Yes, waiting to be prepped and then placed in our freezer.  

It has been a tradition for me (learned from my mom while I was growing up) that prepared/ mashed Butternut Squash freezes very well.  Growing up my family always had 2 large gardens and one of the gardens always had many Butternut Squash plants that produced a great harvest.  Prepping that veggie and freezing the mashed orange colored squash was part of the plan for food in the colder months.  No longer do I have any gardens, but my hubby and I purchase a bushel of this delicious veggie from a local farm.  

The process to prep it to freeze is simple.  The squash is rinsed under cold running water and dried.  Then, it is peeled, cut into chunks and steamed.  After mashing the drained squash it is placed in freezer bags, labeled/ dated and into they freezer they go.

Ready to be placed in our freezer!
(File Photo)

I have written posts with my complete directions for Freezing Butternut Squash in the past, so I am linking one here.   

You may not want to purchase a bushel of squash like we do.  However, do purchase a few of them to prep and freeze while they are available at road side stands and in the grocery stores, now.  Not only is this a delicious veggie at dinnertime, but I substitute it for pumpkin when baking.  I don't purchase canned pumpkin, but I use Butternut Squash in recipes.

It is so good!
Enjoy!
Yummy!