Butternut Squash Lasagna

I (Britney) came over to Mom's house today and saw this beautiful plate of what looked like shredded cheese. Upon placing a bit in my mouth, I was disappointed to discover that it was squash. I'm not a huge fan of squash, and definitely not raw, so I wasn't looking forward to what she was making.

I was wrong.

This Butternut Squash Lasagna was amazing. Leave it to Mom to make vegetables taste awesome. I should have known! (My other favorite butternut squash recipe is one of hers. And I eat it like candy.) This recipe is also a submission to the National Pasta Association challenge to find new ways to eat whole grain noodles. The whole wheat pasta was filling, so I ate less than I would have with white flour noodles, even though it was delicious.

The beautiful combination of being meat-free and extra filling means that this meal is more budget-friendly than most lasagnas. You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients
1 (8oz) package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 (32 oz) package of low fat cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon of dried basil
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
5 cups shredded butternut squash
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Garnish with basil and rosemary

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 pan. Line pasta noodles on the bottom of the pan.
2.  Mix together in a small bowl cottage cheese, egg, basil, garlic, salt, rosemary, and spinach.
3. Spread half of the cottage cheese on to the noodles.
4. Spread have the squash on top of cottage cheese mixture.
5. Put on another layer of noodles the opposite direction.
6. Spread remaining squash on top of the noodles.
7. Then spread on remaining cottage cheese on top.
8. Sprinkle the cheese on top and spread it evenly.
9. Sprinkle on some basil and rosemary if desired.
10. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and take foil. Place back in oven. Bake until cheese melts and it is fork tender when you put a fork in the center.
11. Take out of the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Cut and serve.

“By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the National Pasta Association and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

An InLinkz Link-up

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

I was abundantly blessed with tons of butternut squash in my garden this year. So I decided it was time to make some soup out of one of them. I had made it before and a couple years ago and didn't like the consistency, It was too thick. This recipe turned out some much better. I changed around a recipe I found in family circle   It had some thickness to it yet was not too thick. I loved the combination of flavor the fresh scallions thrown on top were a nice addition. It tasted yummy on this beautiful Fall evening. We had it with some grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ingredients:
2-3 T olive oil
1 white onion diced
salt and pepper
4 carrots peeled and chopped
3/4 medium butternut squash peeled and cut into cubes
8 C water
1 T chicken seasoning (vegan option leave out)
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
1 tsp salt or to taste preference
1/4 tsp pepper
scallion chopped in small pieces
*For taste variation: leave out the thyme and rosemary add 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp cinnamon.

Directions:
1. In a large cooking pot heat oil in pan on medium heat. Toss in the onion. Cook for about 5 min till softened. Add a little salt and pepper
2. Then throw in the squash and carrots. Cook with onion. Cover and  cook on medium low heat about 5 min. Stir as needed.
3. Stir in the water and spices, salt and pepper to your taste preference  Let the mixture come to a boil. Then turn down to medium low heat and let cook about 15 min. covered.
4.  Then pour a couple cups at a time into the blender and puree. Continue until the squash and carrots are all blended.
5. Serve in bowls and top with scallions.
6. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas. baguettes with cheese or crusty bread.

Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash

We had a up and down weekend. The weather has been amazing. I had a wonderful walk with my 2 grandsons. The walk ended up taking us 3 hours. My 3 year old grandson loved riding his new bike through the crunchy leaves. I loved listening to the leaves too. It is nice to enjoy the little things. Later in the day, my son had been on a camping trip which included mountain biking. He came home taped up in duct tape. We took him to the doctor and he has a broken collar bone. :( We are very grateful that he was not hurt worse after a bad fall. He is used to being very active, so it will be an adjustment. He will be reading a lot of books. He is a trooper and has handled it very well. I hear the storm is coming tomorrow, so we will enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. :)The finished product!

This is what it looked like prior to baking.

My sister-in-law inspired me to try this recipe. When I looked at the pan it reminded me of candy corn, but this is a much healthier version of candy corn! My daughter was saying she didn't usually like butternut squash, but really liked this. The squash was all gone by the end of the meal. I will be making this again. It is a great harvest time meal.

Ingredients:
1 Butternut squash
Olive oil
Cinnamon
Sea salt (with iodine)

Directions: Preheat oven 350
1.Wash the squash and then peel it with a potato peeler. Cut in half and cut off the stem, and scoop out the seeds. Then cut into cubes. (You can buy it already cubed at Costco as well)

2. Pour in enough oil to completely coat the squash. Shake on cinnamon and salt or salt and pepper. Some herbs would be yummy for another variation.

3. Put in oven and bake, turning a couple times. Cook until desired texture. Should be about 15 minutes.


What's your favorite harvest side?