Squash Recipes

     In an effort to both save money on groceries lately (due to some party planning expenses for Miss D's upcoming birthday celebrations,) and to use up some of the delicious squashes that we recently harvested from our garden, I have been experimenting a lot in the kitchen lately. I started out searching allrecipes.com and then let my available groceries and imagination guide me.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Lasagna Recipe (Serves 12)

1 Lg. butternut squash, halved and seeded

3 T olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 C. butter

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 C. flour ( I used my own GF blend)

1 quart milk

salt and pepper to taste

1 Pkg. Lasagna Noodles (I used GF)

1 1/2 C. parm. cheese

1/2 C. shredded mozz. cheese

1 lb. ground beef, chicken or turkey

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh and seeds and set aside. Brush each squash half with olive oil  and season with salt. Roast until golden and easily pierced with a knife, approx 45-50 mins. Allow to cool 15-20 mins. and then scoop flesh out into a bowl. I used my immersion blender at this point to puree the squash, but you can either use a food processor or potato masher depending on the consistency you desire.

2. Brown meat in a skillet and drain. Set aside for later. ( for a vegetarian option you can easily omit this part. We are big meat eaters in our house, so I actually added it to the recipe when I modified.)

3. Heat butter in Lg. skillet over med-low heat. Stir in garlic and cook until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 3 mins. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low until thickened, about 10 mins. Stir in the butternut squash and season with salt and pepper. 

4. Reduce oven temp to 375 degrees F. Grease 9 x 12 baking dish ( I used the same one I roasted the squash in as it was pretty much already greased.) Layer 1/3 of the butternut sauce, 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the meat and 1/3 of the parm.cheese. Repeat process 2 more times and top with all of the mozz. cheese. Cover with foil and cook for 30 mins. Remove foil and then cook until top is bubbly and brown (approx.10 mins.)

*Optional Step 5. Make Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
Reduce oven temp. to 200 degrees F. Separate seeds from flesh  and spread out on a cookie sheet. Salt generously with kosher sea salt and roast for approx. 30 mins. I would have included a picture of our roasted seeds however the kids have already gobbled them all up! 

Butternut Squash & Turkey Chili Recipe (serves 12)

2 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped, 

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. ground turkey

1 Lg. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced

1/2 C. chicken broth

1 16oz. bag frozen corn

2  Lg. cans petite diced tomatoes (or 4 C. fresh/canned tomatoes, diced)

2 (15oz.) cans kidney beans

1 T chili powder

1 T cumin

1 T paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1. Heat olive oil in Lg. pot over med. heat. Stir in onion and garlic. Cook and stir for 3 mins. Add turkey and stir until crumbly and no longer pink.

2, Add the butternut squash, chicken broth, tomatoes, kidney beans, and corn. Season with chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder and salt. Bring to a low boil then reduce heat to med-low and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 mins. 

     As it turns out, both of these recipes ended up being so good that I plan to make them, along with a salad, for lunch at Miss D's birthday party in a couple weeks. I am also working on a butternut squash frosting recipe for her cake. I tried one last year and it was okay, but I really want to find one that I'm more excited about this year. Lord knows we have plenty of butternut squash!!!

     If you are a regular follower, I am sure that you have noticed that I am new here. Better known as "the wife," as Mr. J so lovingly refers to me, I am the polar opposite of my husband. While he is a man of few words, you can see that I can tend to ramble quite a bit. I have been a stay at home mom for over 5 years now and with 3 small kids at home I do not have a lot of spare time, but I am going to try to do my best to blog a bit myself. We are really trying to simplify things in our home and as part of our "less is more" approach, I have recently cancelled my Facebook account. The plan is to have more time with my family, to craft, cook, clean, and farm. In order to keep in touch with our family and friends who do not live locally, I will also share more about the kids and our day to day activities. Stay tuned and brace yourselves for the mini-novels that will be coming your way courtesy of Mrs. J!!! :)