Hello Autumn!! I have missed you soo much!
Fall is my favorite season. I love the sights, smells, and tastes, and this macaroni and cheese was a great way to combine the three. This Martha Stewart recipe was used as the base, but modified to meet my needs. There are two main parts to the recipe, and it takes about 2 hours to make, so I started at 10 a.m. I took this picture when just starting, which perfectly describes our morning- French press coffee and squash.
Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese
Part 1:1 lb butternut squash (half a medium sized squash)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Sprinkles of salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne (I think I did maybe about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon each)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the butternut squash, scoop seeds, and cut squash into one inch cubes. This is a great tutorial. Place the squash in a metal sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. Bake for 20 minutes, stir, and bake for another 10 minutes. Then, reduce oven temp to 375 degrees.
Part 2:
1 lb elbow macaroni or shell pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Cooking spray
Cheddar and mozzarella cheese for sprinkling
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
Cook pasta according to package. Meanwhile, put previously baked squash, heavy cream, chicken stock, and cheeses into a bowl and mix. The squash will get squishy and not stay cubed. Stir in cooked pasta. Pour all into a sprayed 9x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and mozzarella cheese and then breadcrumbs. Loosely cover the pan with tin foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove pan from oven, take off foil, and return to oven uncovered for another 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
We ate this with Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale for a super yummy Fall meal. Enjoy!
**Edit on 12/9/13: We have made this meal three more times since the original posting. A roasted sugar pumpkin works in place of the butternut squash (two seed scooped skin-on halves at 325* for 1 hour, then scraped out instead of cubed). This recipe get 10x more delicious when goat cheese is added into the mix. SO GOOD!
**Edit on 9/1/14: Still SO GOOD! I mess around with the flavors each time and it has never not been good. We're growing squash in the garden now too, which my husband lovingly calls the "squash-a-roni plant". He is just as excited as I am. :)
