Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
and details of our Costa Rica trip!
October was totally wild here in the Leaf household. We started off the month by moving (still in Santa Clarita, CA). We love our new home & my pantry is off the charts awesome! Only a few days later, I headed to Knoxville, TX to cook with my friend Sarah from Cook Bake Nourish for a 24 person wellness retreat in the Rocky Mountains!
First of all, it was so beautiful being in the middle of a cabin in the mountains. Secondly, it was a lot of work! We were on our feet for 14 hours 5 days in a row cooking up breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner!
I’ll be sharing some of the delicious recipes we made during the retreat. Chicken Shawarma, Brussel Sprout and Butternut Squash Poached Eggs, Roasted Pear Chia Pudding and a Shaved Kale Salad with Slow Roasted Grapes. These recipes will be shared in the coming weeks right here, on Jazz Leaf Eats!
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Costa Rica Blog!
Over the summer, my husband and I finally traveled to Costa Rica where we explored, adventured and had such a great time! This trip was rescheduled 3 times due to the pandemic! But I documented everything we did, what we ate, where we stayed, my recommendations and even links where you could reserve it for yourself!
If you’re thinking about a trip, I highly recommend Costa Rica. We went over the summer, which is actually their “off-season” or “rainy-season.” Best time to go is NOW - April. Although summer is still great and we got to spend every day outside!
If you want to read through our experience, it’s up on my blog!
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
In case you like to print recipes, click the button below to download the black & white version of the recipe card here!
Serves: 6-8 people
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (with only 20 minutes of actual work)
Ingredients:
12 oz your macaroni of choice, I like using shells! Use gluten free if necessary!
1 teaspoon salt
Butternut squash sauce:
1 cup reserved pasta cooking water
16 oz of butternut squash cubes, I buy the pre-chopped ones! This can be frozen or fresh.
1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
Breadcrumb Topping:
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the butternut squash cubes and yellow onion.
Toss the squash and onion with 2 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil, 3-4 cloves of garlic (this doesn’t need to be minced).
Bake this tray for about 40 minutes to get a really nice char on the veggies!
Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water on the stove with 1 teaspoon of salt.
When the pasta water comes to a boil, add your macaroni noodles.
Cook them according to your package directions, minus 2 minutes! I always take away 2 minutes of the package directions to make sure the noodles are al dente. So if your box says to cook them for 8 minutes, set your timer for 6.
While pasta is cooking, reserve 1 cup of your starchy pasta cooking water, set it aside as it will be added to the sauce!
Drain the pasta and keep it in the colander until we finish the sauce.
When the butternut squash is done cooking in the oven, remove from the oven and transfer it into a high powered blender. I like to use a Vitamix or something like that that is ok with heat.
Add your 1 cup of reserved pasta water, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric to the blender. Blend on medium until the sauce becomes smooth (about 30 seconds). Taste this and make any adjustments if necessary. Remember, we will be adding cheese to this, so if it doesn’t feel salty enough, hold off on adding additional salt.
Transfer the butternut squash sauce into the same pot we boiled the pasta in, and simmer on low heat.
If you are dairy free, you can certainly just add the pasta into the sauce and make sure all of the noodles are coated. BUT, I prefer to add cheese!
Lower the heat of the oven to 350F.
Now add 1 cup of your cheddar and 1 cup of gruyere cheese, shredded. Mix that slowly until all of the cheese is melted (2-3 minutes).
Once melted and creamy, add in your cooked macaroni noodles. Make sure every noodle is covered in the sauce.
Transfer this into an oven safe baking dish (I like to use a lasagna pan or a brownie pan).
In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Top the pasta and sauce with the breadcrumb mixture. Option to add some parmesan cheese on top (about 1/4 cup).
Bake this at 350F for 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are toasty on top!
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes, then dig in!
My newest recipes…
Maple Pecan Homemade Granola (perfect for this time of year)
Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter (easy and affordable)
Air Fried Delicate Squash (great fall side dish)
Air Fried Brussel Sprouts (delicious for this time of year)
My current favorites…
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If you’re a tea drinker like me, this Gooseneck Tea Kettle is a game changer for lemon water, ginger tea, matcha and chai. I wake up excited to make my drinks!
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