As I’ve mentioned before, I really like winter squash, both by itself, and as an addition to various recipes. We eat all kinds of this brightly colored vegetable for its great nutritional value and naturally sweet flavor, but when I’m adding it to other dishes, I typically use the butternut variety. And when I do, I peel and dice it, as I describe in my blog post here.
Occasionally, I find a bargain in the frozen vegetable section of the grocery store and snag a bag of pre-diced squash for less per pound than the cost of a fresh squash in the produce section. That can save quite a bit of time and effort.
It's a practice I recommend for every busy cook.
However, it’s been my general experience that the frozen squash does not match the flavor of the fresh, so I do recommend using the fresh whenever you can, and particularly if it's cheaper. It’s a bit of prep work, but I think it’s worth the trouble.
Still, with lifestyles as busy as they are, it's important for people to incorporate techniques and shortcuts to keep meals realistic and practical.
Using the frozen, pre-cut squash makes this already straightforward recipe an absolute breeze -- about as simple as you can get.