Butternut squash

Since it's Fall time, butternut squash is pretty much everywhere. I grew up eating butternut squash and I absolutely love it! My favorite way to eat butternut squash is to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and then roast it in the oven until tender. Then I scoop out the flesh and mix in some butter, brown sugar, and salt. Its so yummy and a great side dish.

We have received a lot of butternut squash this season between the Farmer's Market and Co-op. Therefore, I have been looking for new ways to use the butternut squash. Some of the different ways that we have tried are peeling and dicing it, then roasting with potatoes. Or more recently, I found a recipe for butternut squash lasagna. The picture looked really yummy, so we gave it a shot.

 Here are the main ingredients:

--milk (I used whole)

--lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)

--frozen spinach

--cheese

--butternut squash

Butternut Squash Lasagna

3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and but into 1/4-1/2 inch slices

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

4 cups milk

1 tbsp fresh rosemary (or dried)

9 no boil lasagna noodles (I used regular and boiled mine first)

1 1/3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup whipping cream (I omitted this)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, toss butternut squash with olive oil and 1/2 tsp of salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender. Remove from oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. *This is when I boiled and cooked my lasagna noodles. If you are using no boil noodles, skip this step.

2. In a large saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Stir in flour and add 1/2 tsp salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. *I cooked my frozen spinach and then squeezed out the excess liquid.

3. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Spread about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer 3 noodles. Lay a couple of slices of the butternut squash, then some spinach.  Add about 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the squash and spinach, then top with a 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. (I used cheddar instead)  Repeat layers ending with the sauce on top with cheese over the top. 

4. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes until edges are bubbly and top is slightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This lasagna was really good. You can easily add your own flavors (like I added the spinach) or exchange ingredients.  The kids really enjoyed this and it was easy to get them to eat their veggies.