Adulting

It’s been a long time since I cooked a meal that required preparation, and more than one step. I.E. something other than spaghetti squash. It’s whatever.

Since the cold weather hit, I’ve been totally vibing on warm lunches. And in order to not eat oatmeal for every meal every day, I decided I’d be ambitious and cook one of my most favoritest fall dishes – butternut squash lasagna. I make this recipe vegan (since sometimes cheese is not my friend), but I will give you the original recipe as I just sub out regular cheese for the vegan kind.

And as always, thanks Jenn for hosting!

Photo cred to my coworker because I share and don’t take pictures of my own food. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/2 to 2 lbs) butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt / Black pepper
1/2 cup water
3 amaretti cookies, crumbled [I omit these]
1/4 cup butter [I use Earth balance, soy free vegan butter]
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk [I use almond milk]
3/4 cups (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
Pinch nutmeg
2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese [I use vega Diaya cheese]
1/3 grated parmesan [Again, I use vega Diaya cheese… they have everything]

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skilled over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and cover. Simmer over medium heat until squash is tender – usually takes about 20 minutes.

Cool slightly, then transfer the squash to the food processor – I use my Vitamix (love). Add amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. I omit the cookies and instead add a dash of nutmeg for flavor. Season squash puree with salt and pepper to taste.

Melt butter in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually add in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens. About 5 minutes. This is important! I did not do this the first time I made the recipe and the lasagna just kinda slid out of the pan. Still tasted delicious but did not look pretty. Whisk in nutmeg and basil. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Position rack in center of the over – preheat to 375 degrees.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2 inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese over lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and top is golden. Roughly about 15 minutes longer.

And there you have it – one of my favorite fall/winter recipes! If you try it out, please let me know what you think! Even my meat loving family loves it : )

What’s your favorite fall recipe?

Do you find that you sub out a lot of ingredients and use recipes more as a framework when cooking?