Twice Baked Butternut Squash

My baby and I are the only ones in my family who love butternut squash. I found THIS recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it out and see if the rest of the family would eat it. But I didn't have sour cream and I wanted my butternut squash to have pumpkin pie spice rather than chives and paprika. So I switched out the ingredients and we thought it was delicious! The measurements depend on how much squash you use -- the original recipe calls for 6 squash and I only made 1/2 a squash for us (the other half of it was just cooked with sea salt and butter for the baby :). So I didn't measure a thing and am just guessing... I just wanted to blog it so I wouldn't forget the idea.

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash (1/2 small squash)

butter (2 Tbs)

sea salt (to taste)

cream cheese (3 Tbs)

pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

Panko bread crumbs (for topping)

Directions

1. Heat oven (I used toaster oven since it was a small squash) to 450 degrees with the rack in center. Halve squash lengthwise, and remove seeds and fibers. Sprinkle squash halves with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Fill a pan with 1/4 inch water. Place squash in pan. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake until squash is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer squash to a cool surface, and let cool enough to handle. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.
2. Use a spoon to scoop baked flesh out of each half into a large bowl, leaving a 1/4-inch border around six of the halves so they will keep their shape. To the bowl, add cream cheese, butter, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well. Season with salt. Fill squash halves with mixture. Sprinkle tops with panko. Bake until golden brown and warm throughout, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve.