Monday, January 24, 2011

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese & Roasted Eggplant Dip


Brrr... it was a cold one today. To warm us up tonight, I made butternut squash mac and cheese for dinner.

I also wanted to get ahead of my book group cooking for Wednesday so I made roasted eggplant dip while the butternut squash was cooking.




Roasted Eggplant Dip

-1 medium eggplant diced, skin on
- 2 red peppers, seeded and diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. of salt
- 1/4 tsp. of black pepper
- 1-2 tbsp of garlic
- 1 tbsp of tahini
- 1/4 + cup of fresh parsley(I love parsley so I added about 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 400F and place the eggplant, red peppers, garlic coated with olive oil, salt & pepper into a roasting pan. Roast for 35-45 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Then add all the roasties, tahini and parsley to a food processor! Pulse until desired consistency! Enjoy warm or let cool slightly and enjoy!




Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese(adapted from Martha Stewart)


The beginning: Tinkyada pasta shells & a peeled butternut squash...




- 1 small/medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes( 3 cups)
- 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups skim or 1% milk... actually it doesn't matter
- small shake of nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. coarse salt & black pepper
- 1 bag of tinkyada(gluten free) shells
- 1 1/2 cups of Cabot extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 tbsp. of parmesan or romano cheese, grated
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375F. Combine squash, chicken broth, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the squash is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat. Blend contents with ricotta cheese using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor. Stir in nutmeg, salt and black pepper.

- Cook the pasta while the sauce is simmering- follow directions on the box. Drain and transfer to a large bowl and add cheddar cheese, squash mixture, and 2 tbsp of parm cheese.

- Coat a medium/large baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil, and place the squash/shell mixture in the dish. Sprinkle with remaining parm cheese and more cheddar if you like! Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve immediately!

Note: this dish is so creamy and delicious... it looks like 'from a box' mac & cheese- a real kid pleaser!!




While the mac and cheese was cooking I roasted some broccoli, zucchini, and brussel sprouts.

Deliciouso!!






Time for bed... an early morning for me at the gym!

1 comments:

Lindsay said...

This looks ridiculously good.

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