Penne with Garlicky Butternut Squash

I usually make soup or lasagna with butternut squash, but I didn't feel like dirtying up the food processor tonight. I tried this penne recipe - skipped the parsley, used ground sage, and only used half the amount of penne that it called for as that was all I had. I probably used 3/4 cups of water too. This was good - not great like some of other ways I have tried butternut, but good. If I made this with a whole pound of penne, I would double the amount of squash to eight cups for sure.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I just love butternut squash. I discovered it last year, and it is such a wonderful flavor. I usually make a lasagna out of it but wanted to try some quicker (but equally delicious!) ways of making it. I made this soup for dinner tonight and it fit the bill. It was very easy to make - just pop the squash in the oven for 40 minutes, puree it in the food processor, and then mix it with a few other ingredients. I also roasted a leek and a couple cloves of garlic with the squash and pureed them all together. I used a big pinch of nutmeg, and used half-and-half instead of milk (whole milk would have been good too). With the leek and garlic, the soup has a lot of depth to it. We loved it and I'll definitely make it again.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

We went to the Abingdon, Virginia Farmers Market yesterday and one of the vendors was selling butternut squash - the first local ones I have seen this season. I made this lasagna twice last fall, and it is one of my favorite dishes. It is very labor intensive so I don't make it that often, but it is so much better than the other ways I have made butternut squash. For the first ones of the season I decided to indulge. I used some organic basil from our weekly CSA basket, and also a few leaves from my own basil plants. I always skip the amaretti cookies and the lasagna is still outstanding. I also use low-fat mozzarella and it taste just fine. I think that about 3-4 pounds of squash is perfect - I think I used about 5 pounds this time and the squash overwhelmed the basil sauce. This is definitely a great dish for company, but only if you have a few hours to prepare it. And the best thing is, I still have half the lasagna in my fridge for leftovers!

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

I bought a butternut squash last week, and realized a couple days ago that the side it was laying on was developing a veggie pressure ulcer of sorts, so I had to cook it that day. I chopped off the bad part of course. I made this soup with the squash. After reading the reviews I doubled the ginger and roasted the garlic with the squash. The soup itself was pretty good, except I thought the ginger overpowered the subtle flavor of the squash. If I make it again I'll use the amount of ginger that the recipe calls for. I liked this soup, but not any better than this recipe for Southwestern Pumpkin Soup, which is way easier.

I also learned the hard way that you really should follow the directions for the Cuisinart, and not fill the bowl too much, unless you like to have squash puree all over your kitchen counters, which I prefer not to.