Sunday, September 25, 2011

Butternut Squash LASAGNA!


Did you really think I had exhausted all of the possibilities for butternut squash recipes?! Ha! I have several more to come, but today's might have been my favorite (thus far). It started with the leftovers from my butternut squash sauce...

Butternut Squash Sauce

Ingredients
(~6 servings)

(Adapted from Simply Recipes)

1 large butternut squash (or 2 small)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup half and half
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 T scallions
1 T chopped parsley
2 t lemon juice
Pepper to taste
Water to thin the sauce

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise in half and scoop out the guts and seeds and discard them. Bake for 40 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the squash. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop out the squash flesh from the skins and either puree in a large blender or put it in the pan in which you will be making the sauce and just mash with a large fork (this is what I did and it was less mess and very easy).

2. Cook the puree for about a minute to get hot. Add the half and half, a tablespoon at a time, slowly stirring it in to incorporate and to avoid lumps. Stir in the parmesan. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add water (or low sodium chicken stock) to thin to the consistency you want. Take off heat and add the parsley, scallions, and lemon juice. Cover the pan to keep warm.

4. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.


What do you do with extra sauce? Make lasagna of course!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

(Adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 16 ounces mushrooms
  • 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups butternut squash sauce (see recipe above)
  • 1 (16 ounce) package fat free cottage cheese
  • 1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
  • 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. In a large skillet saute (with the EVOO) mushrooms on medium until soft. In a separate skillet cook and stir ground beef until brown. Combine the mushrooms and beef into one skillet and stir in pasta sauce, and heat through.
  2. In a medium size bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and eggs.
  3. Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Layer with uncooked lasagna noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, and meat sauce. Continue layering until all ingredients are used, reserving 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
  4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, and top with remaining half cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.


Nick and I both scored this dinner a 10. It was delicious. If you like a really "wet" lasagna, I would suggest watering down the sauce a bit, by adding more water or stock to the sauce while it's cooking.

And check out the nutrition facts. Not too shabby for lasagna!

Lasagna Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/8th of the pan

If you think 600 calories is a lot for a serving of lasagna, you're mistaken! Most lasagnas have between 800 and 1500 calories (no joke) and not to mention two to three times more sodium. So, my friends, that "B" score is pretty amazing.


And now for this week's nutrition and health news updates;

NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams; What Does "Natural" Mean Anyway?
(There are many lawsuits against foods companies who are falsely using the term "natural" on their products. Let's face it, until the FDA actually creates a standard definition, this will continue, lawsuits or not. To read more about the lawsuit, check out this article by the Wall Street Journal. If you can't read the article due to not having a subscription, check out the comment section!)


Why Even Resolute Dieters Fail

(Like we've always said, fad diets don't work...and for a good reason. As it turns out slow and steady weight loss is the key to staying slim for a lifetime.)


Eating Low-Fat Yogurt During Pregnancy Tied to Hay Fever and Asthma

(Ugh. What next? Chocolate?! I know I read this same study about peanuts once. What a bummer. The good news is that more research is needed at this time.)

QUESTION: What was the BEST thing you ate this weekend/week?!

12 comments :

  1. Wow that lasagna looks incredible Gina! I still haven't bought a butternut squash this fall--better get on that!

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  2. HI Gina. That lasagne looks SOOO good. And as always, thanks for the news articles!!! Hope your Sunday goes well.

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  3. I am most definitely making that sauce- especially since I just bought a massive butternut squash :)
    Best thing I've eaten this week? Falafel sandwich!

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  4. I am most definitely making that sauce- especially since I just bought a massive butternut squash :)
    Best thing I've eaten this week? Falafel sandwich!

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  5. What a brilliant idea for your butternut squash. Perfect idea to use it in a lasagna. It sounds amazing!

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  6. This looks so delicious, and such a clever idea! I'm bookmarking this page as I type :) Best thing I ate this weekend was an unplanned apple crumble made at my dad's house from random stuff we could find in the cupboard... it turned out pretty yummy!

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  7. ha, almost put butternut squash in my turkey chili last night, have you tried that one? This looks great I may do a g-free lasagna soon. Best/worst thing I did this weekend was run a marathon, argh.

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  8. 1/8th of a 9x13 is a nice portion! The sodium is low for a lasagna recipe, too :) I made pumpkin lasagna last year - so good! I just found a pumpkin penne recipe I want to try, too :)

    Best thing I ate this weekend. Hmmm. Either the salad I had on Friday night or the chili we made on Saturday - so good!

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  9. this looks absolutely delicious!

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  10. Looovvvve butternut squash lasagna. But I'm confused - were there actual lasagna noodles in it? The first recipes doesn't have any, right?

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