When I opened my pantry, two acorn squash rolled toward my feet. Picking them up, I admired their beautiful orange spots. My spouse assured me they were good, but informed me they shouldn’t sit in our pantry much longer. Needless to say, the time had come to either eat these babies or prep them for the freezer. I decided- why not both?

(1) Peel, seed, and slice an acorn squash

This is a great time to say all knifes are not created equally. Thanks to my spouse, I have jumped on the Wüsthof bandwagon. In our kitchen you will only find two knives- the Wüsthof Classic 6″ Serrated Chopper Knife and the  Wüsthof Classic 8″ Chef’s Knife . I openly admit these knives are not cheap, but I also truly believe you will only have to buy one of each in your life time. These knives can peel and chop anything!

Now where was I… yes, cutting your acorn squash using a chef’s knife or serrated knife. Cut it in half lengthwise through the stem. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and the membrane. Cut the halves into slices (crosswise for a fluted edge), and into cubes. Place in a Ziploc freezer bag and into the freezer they go for future meal prep.

(2) Baked Acorn Squash with brown sugar and butter

• Medium acorn squash
• 1 T. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and at room temperature
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 t packed light or dark brown sugar

Heat oven to 400. Begin by splitting an acorn squash lengthwise, scooping the seeds, and cutting a tiny slice from the back of each half so it’ll be stable in a roasting pan. Season the cut sides with salt and pepper, and drop just enough butter and  brown sugar in the cavities to become a delicious glaze when baked in a hot oven. Bon Appetite!