Butternut Squash & Green Beans with Maple Syrup

Squash and Green BeansThis is a great vegetable dish. It’s easy to make with cubed squash. Consider this for your next company dinner or save it for the holidays.

To make this dish, use one butternut squash, as many beans as you wish, a handful of nuts and some maple syrup. Sounds like a pretty good combination.

This is a wonderful side dish recipe (though I did make a meal of this). The secret to this dish is to not overcook the vegetables.

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
1-2 pounds fresh green beans
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup maple syrup
dash of allspice (optional)

For directions on cutting the squash, see “How to Peel and Cube a Butternut Squash.”

Directions

cubed squash
1. Place the squash cubes on a large baking pan. Drizzle one to two tablespoons of vegetable oil over the squash. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Bake the squash for 20 minutes or until nearly tender, turning once during cooking.
3. While the squash is cooking steam the green beans until they turn color and start to become tender. Do not overcook the beans; they will continue to cook in the skillet.
4. While the beans and the squash are cooking, melt the butter in a large, non-stick skillet. Place the slivered almonds in the butter and sauté for several minutes.
5. Place the squash and the beans in the skillet with the almonds. Pour the maple syrup over the vegetables and stir. Cook until the dish is hot and the vegetables are nearly tender, stirring often. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.