mac-n-squash-n-cheese

who knew? apparently all sorts of people -- but I finally found out about putting butternut squash in macaroni and cheese and it is really good. You can use just a little very sharp cheddar for flavor and it looks very cheesy from the squash.Some recipes I found just add a little to the sauce, some use mostly squash with a little broth and some ricotta and cheddar. I roasted the squash but then needed to steam it a little because the outsides were tough and didn't mash (a food processor might have done it but that's more cleaning than the steamer) and I sauteed some onion and added some butter and flour to make a roux with a little milk and the squash and grated cheese -  but I think I ended up with way too many dirty pans and bowls. I'll try again and see if I can come up with a streamlined version that's as yummy -- even Evan thought it was good and he knew it had squash in it. Let me know if you try it, especially if you find a way that uses less pots and pans!

Yaki Soba with Spaghetti Squash

Today I used spaghetti squash instead of noodles. We liked it a lot but if you are trying to use this dish as a way to sneak veggies to your kids it won't work. The noodles version seems to "hide" a lot of vegetables so you feel you are getting noodles mostly, the squash version looks beautiful but you know  you are seeing/eating a dish of veg. Even though I use whole wheat thin spaghetti these days, I assume the squash is more nutritious and I'm sure it has less calories. Today I included some edamame, slaw mix (on sale from HyVee), carrots, onion, broccoli, cauliflower (sale also! I think at Schnucks), celery,  green pepper, water chestnuts....

I used a new four-part Asian spice combo from Aldi - the only disappointment I've had from Penzeys was their Chinese 5-spice (might as well be just cinnamon) so when I saw this I picked it up despite my mistrusts of cheapo spices. There is 5-spice, "Mandarin", Chinese Garlic seasoning, and spicy Szechuan (I think) and you can open whichever one you want from the divided jar. I used the Mandarin and garlic ones and it was pretty tasty. Made a great dinner with a baked sweet potato and whole wheat bread & better.

if you missed the yaki soba here's a link:
http://eatfastandhealthy.blogspot.com/2011/02/yaki-soba-cooks-fast.html