Waste Not, Want Not -- Roasting Squash Seeds

As you may have observed we eat a plentiful amount a squash around here.  We try to use as much as the produce as we can so we like to roast our squash seeds for a healthy, crunchy snack.  People seem to do this with their jack-o-lantern seeds during Halloween but we do it as long as we have squash to be eaten. 

We used seeds from butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash.  We even mix them up when we are eating a lot of squash in one week.  We just store them in the fridge until we have enough or until we think they can't be stored much longer.

I find it easier to pinch the seeds out of the lovely, slimy strands while it is all still attached to the squash.  I don't have to deal with as much muck that way and then when they are all out, I scrape the strands out of the squash. As I said, we store the seeds in a air tight container in the fridge until we have enough to make ourselves happy. 

To roast approximately 1 cup of seeds, I add 1 Tbsp. of melted butter and whatever seasoning or spice blend we want and give it a stir to coat.  Then we spread them out on a baking sheet.

 Slide them in to the oven, preheated to 350 degrees F and roast them 10-14 minutes, checking them until they are crunchy and browned.

Seasoning blends we enjoy here are creole and a cinnamon/sugar blend.  Garlic is always a welcomed choice in our home as well.