Squish Bread

"Squish Bread" is what my three year old calls my Squash Bread.  It is a very basic recipe based on a standard Banana Bread recipe, from my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, with a few alterations. 

Reason to love this recipe: Do you eat your daily recommended amount of fruits and vegies?  Any chance to sneek in an extra serving of fruit, and some variety in the fruits you eat, should be a welcome one!

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash (equivalent to approx. 1 1/2 cups of mashed butternut squash)
  Note: Using this amount of squash will give you a very delicously moist bread.  However, if you prefer a dryer consistency for your bread, I recommend increasing the amount of flour used or decreasing the amount of squash.
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• (optional) 1/4 chopped walnuts

Directions
Preparing the Squash

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking sheet.
2. Halve your squash.  Clean out the strings and the seeds. 
3. Bake squash for approximately an hour.  Let cool, then trim off skin.
4. Divide softened squash into managable pieces.  Mash until you have a smooth, even textured squash.  Any chunks will end up in your bread, so feel free to run squash through a food processor for the best results.
5. Set aside to finish cooling.

Bread

1. Grease 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except sugar (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  make a well in the center of the mixture and set aside.
3. In a separate medium-size bowl, beat eggs.
4. Mix squash, sugar, and butter with beaten eggs.
5. Add squash mixture to flour mixture all at once.  Mix only until flour mixture is evenly moistened.
6. Fold in nuts, if desired.
7. Bake for 60-90 minutes depending on your pan type and size.  Test by inserting a knife into the center of the bread while baking.  If the knife comes out clean, your bread is done! 
   Tip: If your bread seems to be browning faster than the center is baking, cover loosely with foil.
8. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
9. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
10. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

ENJOY!