Butternut Squash Lasagna

We've had a ton of butternut squash in our freezer for awhile now.  I got a bulk bag of frozen squash from work, and we've been slowly chopping away at it with soups and tacos.  I Stumbled Upon a recipe for butternut squash lasagna on Sassy Radish and decided to try it out.

I halved the recipe and between Willis and I, we still have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow.  

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Squash Filling:
1 onion, chopped
1.5 tbsp salted butter
1 lb butternut frozen squash
1 tsp minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp sage
1/2 cup pistachios chopped


Sauce:
1 tsp minced garlic
1.5 tbsp salted butter
2.5 tbsp all-purpose flour
2.5 cups milk
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp black pepper

For Assembling Lasagna:
1 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
6 sheets no-boil lasagna





Preparation:

Squash Filling:
Cook the onions in butter for about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, pepper, and broth and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sage and nuts. Bring filling to room temperature.

Sauce:
Cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, 3 minutes – this will make your roux. Add milk in a thin constant stream, whisking all the while. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes.  Discard bay leaf, and remove from heat, and stir in salt.

Assemble lasagna:
Combine Cheeses. Butter glass baking dish.  Spread 1/4 cup sauce in baking dish.  Cover with 2 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets (because of the size of my dish, I had to break some sheets).
Spread with 1/4 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/4 cup cheese.
Sepeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagna in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10-15 minutes more.  Let lasagna stand 15-20 minutes before serving.

Currently listening to:

The end of our winter garden

We're pulling up the last of the winter garden, mainly leeks and kale, to make room for spring time plantings, like potatoes!  We've given some to family members and are throwing the rest in morning scrambles.  Willis has set up the grow station in the basement to start seeds and this past weekend, we purchased some chard starts.  Since, we've had a few seasons worth of garden in our home, I thought I'd show a one year time lapse of one section of our yard.

March 2010: 2 months after we moved in. You can't really tell, but there is a random pile of rocks, lamb's ear, and prickly pear in the middle of the yard! WTF!

April 201: We planted a mini plum tree in between the wisteria and the hibiscus. We pulled up a bunch of bricks that the previous owner had laid and put in a border.  We used cardboard and compost to kill off the grass, and put up a bee box.  The dogwood blooms.

April 2010: We moved the random pile of rocks and lamb's ear and added in some moss and blueberry bushes.  We also added stepping stones and added in some drip irrigation, to make watering easier and less wasteful.  The wisteria blooms.

August 2010: The squash goes crazy!!  The squash winds up the fence and attacks the wisteria.  The strawberries gasp for air.  The hibiscus blooms.

March 2011:  The wisteria is gone!!!!  Although you can't tell, the lamb's ear, strawberries, mosses, and blueberry bushes still surround the plum tree.  I don't know why this photo looks like it's from the '70s.

this week's menu #4

I took a break from the weekly menu posts due to us being on vacation.  But rest assured, we ate plenty of deliciousness overseas: chips, jam donuts (berliners), maultaschen, chicken man, etc.

This week's menu has included:

Saturday:
Winter Squash Nachos  - Willis made a delicious mix of winter squash, beans, and cheese to eat with nachos.

Sunday:
Focaccia & Seitan - Willis loves making focaccia.

Monday:
Seitan, Kale, and Baked Parmesan Potatoes

Tuesday:
Leftovers

Wednesday:
Pinto Beans & Rice w/ Kale & Hushpuppies w/ Almond Honey Butter

Thursday:
Frozen Pizza

Friday:
Pasta Dinner @ a friend's house.

this week's menu: #1

I'm going to try to be better about talking about what we cooked.  I'm needing a little more inspiration in the kitchen these days, and why not spend the new year blogging about my kitchen adventures?

Monday:
Black Bean Burgers & French Fries - We've had these garden burgers in our freezer for awhile now.  I'm not sure exactly where they came from or how they got there, but I figured it was about time to use them up.  I made french fries with the extra potatoes I had from Christmas dinner.  I love homemade fries.  They are so easy to make: just cut up the potatoes, no need to peel.  toss them with some oil and your favorite seasonings, i like salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.  then put them on a baking sheet in the oven for about 30-45 mins.  at around 400-425 degrees.  yum!

Tuesday:
Tempeh Tacos - I love the bulk tempeh from the Alberta Coop.  It's huge.  Since we moved to North Portland, we rarely have it around anymore.  I was recently on Alberta with a friend and stopped in to get some essentials from the coop, including a giant sheet of tempeh!  I made the spicy tempeh & black bean burrito recipe from Hungry Vegan.  I also made tortillas and a vegan cheese sauce, since we were all out of dairy cheese.  Everything was delicious if I do say so myself.

Wednesday:
Winter Squash Curry - We had one small squash left from the garden stored in the basement and some precooked stored in the freezer.  I've been craving a coconut based curry lately, so I decided to make some with the squash.  Another super easy thing to make.  I used this recipe but substituted mustard greens that we had frozen from the garden for the spinach.

Thursday:
Leftovers - Willis had to work late, so I just finished off the leftover curry.

Friday:
Frozen Pizza!! - We like to treat ourselves to lazy evenings.  So we ate frozen pizza, chips & salsa, and watched Heroes.  It was a good night.

December? Already?

It's been quite awhile since either of us have posted anything.  So, I figure it's time for an update.

Garden:
Willis has made some winter cloches for the beds, my little ginkgo tree has shed all of it's leaves, and we've still yet to build a fence.  We've decided, however, to move the current landscaping from the backyard to the front yard come spring time.  This way the dogs can roam all over and we don't have to worry about them trampling through the fava bean patch or peeing on the strawberries.  We'll keep the beds and plant another tree or two, but other than that the backyard will be all for the dogs.

 Kitchen:
This giant squash is from our fall garden.  Willis made some delicious muffins with it for our family Thanksgiving feast.  We also provided a green bean casserole (my favorite recipe listed below), some stuffing, and celebration roast.

In the past few months, we've had plenty of leeks and scallions from the garden as well as some greens to cook up.

And, we've welcomed a pizza stone into our lives, thanks to Taleia!  The dough is currently rising, and I'll be giving it a test run tonight.

Outdoor Adventures:

Willis has continued to go mushrooming and has had luck with a patch of chanterelles in Forest Park, not too far from our house.  Good to know for next year.  He and Taleia also spent a day at the cost hoping to try their luck at some clamming.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes | Bake Time: 15 minutes
For the Topping:
4 slices white bread, each slices torn into quarters
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups canned fried onions (about 6 ounces)
For the Beans and Sauce:
2 tablespoons salt
2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed, and halved
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound white button mushrooms, stems removed, wiped clean and broken into ½-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups broth
1½ cups heavy cream

1. For the Topping: Pulse bread, butter, salt and pepper in food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with onions; set aside.

2. For the Beans and Sauce: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add 2 tablespoons salt and beans. Cook beans until bright green and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Drain beans in colander and plunge immediately into ice water to stop cooking. Spread beans on paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.

3. Add butter to now-empty pot and melt over medium-high heat until foaming subsides. Add mushrooms, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook until mushrooms release moisture and liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and bring to simmer, stirring constantly. Add cream, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce is thickened and reduced to 3½ cups, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add green beans to sauce and stir until evenly coated. Arrange in an even layer in 3-quart (or 9×13-inch) baking dish. Sprinkle with topping and bake until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling around edges, about 15 minutes.

Garden Update: squash and tomato

The tomato and squash plants are a bit overwhelming.  The tomatoes are finally starting to turn at a decent rate, and we're getting tons every day.  We've already made a batch of tomato sauce for the freezer and some tomato soup.  One squash plant has decided to attack the wisteria, which I thought was an impossible feat.  I am actually not a fan of summer squash, so we try to come with creative ways to cook it. 

Tonight for dinner, I made a quick salsa and Willis is making a Tex-Mex Squash Casserole.  It smells delicious and I can't wait to eat it!

Tex-Mex Squash Casserole 

2 lbs. summer squash

1 small block of tempeh

1 onion, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

8 oz. cheese, shredded

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups tortilla chips, crushed

paprika

Directions:

1. Cut up squash and saute with onions and tempeh.
2. Saute until the onion is glassy and the squash a bit softer, but still al dente.
3. Add chili and jalapeno peppers, shredded cheese and sour cream; toss gently so squash will not be mashed.
4. Spread half of crushed chips on bottom of a greased 2-quart rectangular dish.
5. Pour the squash mixture in dish and sprinkle the remaining chips on top.
6. Dust with paprika.
7. Cook 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 390 F.