Friday Foodie - An Old Recipe and a New Tip

I've been in a bit of a food rut lately.  Haven't tried much new and just recycling the same ol' same ol'.  I dug through my Friday Foodie page and found Butternut Squash Pasta with Meat and Veggies.  It was so good!  I love how the sweetness of the butternut squash and the spiciness of the sausage offset each other.

• 1 whole Butternut Squash, Peeled & Cubed
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1-½ cup Chicken Broth
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
• 6 cloves Roasted Garlic
• 6 oz. whole wheat penne pasta
• 2 Italian turkey sausages
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 5 white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 oz. sliced turkey pepperoni
• 8 oz. low fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Bake butternut squash at 350 until softened. After baking, cut off the ends of the squash first, and then cut it in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds/guts. Peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler–you may need to make more than one swipe to get all of it. Slice crosswise, and then cut up each slice to cube it.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet and when it’s hot, dump in the cubed squash. Salt & pepper the squash to taste and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

Start boiling your water to cook your pasta. Cooking the squash is a very fast process. But before you drain the pasta, be sure to reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta’s cooking water and set aside.

Also, start cooking the sausage per package directions. When it is finished, slice and return to skillet, saute with shallot, then add bell peppers, mushrooms, and pepperoni.

After cooking the squash in the oil, add in the chicken broth (which can be replaced with vegetable broth to make it vegetarian-friendly) and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for up to an additional 10 minutes or until the squash cubes are easily split in half with a fork (they should already be somewhat soft due to baking the squash.)

Put the cloves of roasted garlic into a blender or food processor along with the squash and any liquid still left in the skillet. Blend until the squash is smooth with no lumps remaining. Put the puree back into the skillet and put it over very low heat. Expect the puree to be too thick–that’s what the reserved pasta cooking water is for. Add in a little at a time until the puree is thinned to your liking.

Add a little of the sauce to the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan. Combine remaining sauce with pasta and meat mixture and add to pan.

Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until bubbling. Uncover; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Bake 7-9 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes.

The only thing I did differently this time was with the meat.  I had ground turkey sausage instead of sausage links.  I have found that ground turkey does not crumble as well when cooking as ground beef.  I always end up with larger pieces of meat than I want.  So here's my tip of the day:  After the meat is browned, before adding the veggies, I put the meat in my food processor.  I pulsed it for about 8-10 seconds and it was finely ground.  I think it makes the meat go a little further in the dish as well.  I felt like I got a little bit in every bite!