Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

I hate chopping butternut squash.  I chopped two of those suckers, and it took 20+ minutes, and my hand was killing me by the end.  Yuck.  Any recommendations on how to chop butternut squash better, besides for buying it pre-cut?

Anyways, after the chopping, the rest of the recipe was easy to make and pretty delicious.  This recipe is adapted from SheKnows.  I love the color that the squash and the cheese make this dish- it's wonderful!

Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients
2.5 cups diced butternut squash (about 2-3 squash)
1 tbs olive oil
10 ounces elbow noodles (whole wheat preferred)
2 tbs skim milk + 3/4 cup skim milk
2 tbs butter
2 tbs whole wheat flour
salt and pepper
1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 1/4 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the butternut squash cubes on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.

Roast for 15 minutes. Flip squash cubes over and roast for another 10 minutes.

Place the squash and 2 tablespoons of milk into the body of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions, drain, and set aside.

In a large pan, heat the butter until melted over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture is thick, about 2 minutes. Stir in the milk and butternut squash puree. Heat until the sauce is thick. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper and add garlic powder.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheese. Add pasta to the sauce and mix.

Asparagus Lasagna

Yay for our one-month anniversary dinner!  Austin’s favorite vegetable is asparagus, and I heart pasta, so when I saw this recipe from name of One Perfect Bite, it was an obvious choice for our dinner.   Unfortunately, I have a nasty problem of not reading recipes before deciding to make them.

Word to the wise-- when making this recipe, give yourself PLENTY OF TIME FOR PREP.  Before putting the lasagna in the oven, I was in the kitchen close to an hour.  I got home to make dinner after 7 pm, so we didn’t sit down for dinner until 9 pm :(

I would love to make this dinner again on a Sunday afternoon, with plenty of time to enjoy cooking the meal.  There was some terms thrown around in this recipe that I had never heard of like bechamel.  I learned that it is basically a white sauce with a fancy name...moral of the story, it’s tasty.  Asparagus lasagna is yummy!!!  A+ for this recipe.

We paired it with sparkling wine (aka champagne) from Chandon in Napa Valley- we went there in 2009 via the Napa Wine Train and saved it for a special occasion.  I think a one-month wedding anniversary was a good reason to pop that cork :)

Asparagus Lasagna

Ingredients

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

salt for boiling pasta

2 pounds asparagus 

1 olive oil béchamel (see below)

about 1 cup Parmesan

Sprinkling of herbs, tarragon, parsley, basil, and oregano

1/2 pound no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions

Fill a pot with water and add garlic cloves.  Bring to boil.  As the water boils, break off ends of asparagus and save ends.  Add ends to boiling water along with salt.  Reduce heat to medium low, partially cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove asparagus ends and garlic cloves from water and discard. Bring water back to a boil, and add asparagus stalks. Boil thick asparagus stalks for five minutes.  Transfer them, using tongs, to a bowl of ice water. Do not drain cooking water. Allow asparagus to cool for a few minutes, then drain and dry on a clean kitchen towel. Cut all asparagus into 1-inch lengths. Set aside.

While asparagus is boiling, start  béchamel!

Whisk 1/2 cup of cooking water from asparagus into béchamel, along with 1/4 cup of Parmesan and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spray cooking spray on 3-quart baking dish. Bring water back to a rolling boil, and drop in enough lasagna noodles to cover surface of the baking dish (3-4 lasagna noodles). Boil just until pasta is flexible (about three minutes for no-boil lasagna). 

Spread thin layer of béchamel over bottom of baking dish. Cover with a layer of pasta. Stir asparagus into remaining béchamel, and spread a layer over noodles. Sprinkle on 2 tablespoons Parmesan. 

Repeat with parboiling pasta,  béchamel  and asparagus, and cheese.  End with a layer of pasta, and if you have any béchamel left, spread it over the top and sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle 1 tbs of olive oil over lasagna, and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbling. Uncover, and continue to bake until top just begins to color, about 10 minutes. 

Olive Oil Béchamel 

Ingredients

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil 

2 tbs finely chopped onion

2 tbs flour 

2 cups skim milk 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy medium saucepan. Add onion, and cook for about three minutes. Stir in flour, stirring, for about three minutes until smooth and bubbling but not browned. Whisk in milk all at once, and whisk until mixture begins to thicken. Turn heat to low, and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping bottom and edges of pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves six.