Leftover butternut squash?? Try this Butternut Squash Salad with Hazelnuts & Blue Cheese (or Feta!)

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4

Leftover butternut squash (from previous recipe) or 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, delicata squash, or sugar pumpkin-- peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 cups mixed greens (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup) or sub feta (I LOVE FETA!)

Heat oven to 400F.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (now who really measures that out???  Give a healthy coat of EVOO or Olive oil and shake some salt & pepper on top!)  Roast, tossing once, until golden brown and tender, 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, spread the hazelnuts on a second rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then rub in a clean dish towel to remove the skins (discard skins).  Roughly chop.

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & pepper.  Add the squash, hazelnuts, greens, and onion , and toss to combine.  Sprinkle with the cheese!

**Now I'm thinking since I don't have hazelnuts, I'll sub roasted almonds and since I'm a feta lover, I'll sub that in as well.  I'm also not too sure how the bf will feel about this vinaigrette, so I'll keep the salad dry and we can add our own dressing as we please!  I'm thinking bottle basalmic or poppy seed dressing may work and cut down the prep time!!!

Recipe from Real Simple Magazine, October 2011

Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushroom, & Fontina

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

1 small butternut squash (2 lbs), peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 button or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed & halved if large (I used cut up baby bella mushrooms c...uz that's what I had)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves (I actually used thyme cuz I didn't have fresh sage)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Black Pepper
1 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini (I had spinach & cheese tortellini & cheese ravioli, so i used that)
2 ounces fontina or gruyere, grated=1/2 cup

Heat oven to 450F. On a rimmed (or 2 depending on how much butternut squash you have) toss the squash, mushrooms with sage & oil, salt, & pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender. About 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain the tortellini and return to the pot. Add the squash & mushrooms, fontina, 1/4 cup cooking water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss gently to coat (add more water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with additional fontina.

**Now, I used gruyere, cuz I had some leftover and instead roasting the mushrooms, I actually made a cheesy mushroom garlic cream sauce instead of making the sauce in the recipe with the cooking water... For the cream sauce, I put a little extra virgin olive oil in a pot, added fresh chopped garlic & the mushrooms & sauteed for a bit. Then I added half & half (or you can use heavy cream which will make it thicker, but I had some half & half & used that). I brought it to a boil and to make it a little thicker, I added some flour to my half & half, then added the cheese and it made the sauce! Poured the sauce over the tortellini & butternut squash & added more gruyere cheese to the top! It was soooo good!!!



Recipe from Real Simple Magazine, October 2011