Butternut Squash Lasagna & Other Yummy Goodness

Last night we had my mom, sister, and her fiance over for dinner.  My sissy is quite the critic... performing cooking masterpieces {show off - love you} She is also the one that got me this great cookbook:
...highly suggest you pick it up!

Anyway, I decided to make butternut squash lasagna and my secret caesar salad...mmm :)

I read about a slow cooker recipe for slow cooker winter squash lasagna in the Real Simple magazine and figured I'd try it.  I'm always trying to sneak veggies into my meat and potatoes hubby.  Instead of using the slow cooker, I used my new Dutch Oven that I looove.  It was under $40 from Sam's Club...no Le Creuset but it's awesome.

To get started, these are the ingredients you will need:

1 lb. of lasagne {I used the kind you have to boil, definitely use the no-cook if you can find it - time saver!}

2 boxes of frozen butternut or winter squash {I used Birds Eye}

Thaw them in the microwave before using

1 large tub of Ricotta cheese {around a 1lb. I think}

1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt & Pepper {add to squash and ricotta cheese mixture}

Bread Crumbs {not pictured - whoops}

To begin, spread a small amount of the squash on the bottom of your Dutch Oven or lasagna pan:

Then add a layer of lasagna sheets, I cooked mine slightly less than al dente because they cook more in the oven.  Then a layer of ricotta and shredded mozzarella cheese mixed together...

You can also add fresh parsley or basil to the ricotta and mozzarella mixture, I just didn't have any ready to use.  After all of the layers are completed, add a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella and breadcrumbs over the top layer.  I also added cubed butter to brown the top slightly.  Everything is better with butter, right? :)

I made this ahead of time in the morning so I could just pop it in when I was ready.  Cook the lasagna at 350 degrees for about an hour...up the temperature if you need a shorter cooking time.  It comes out all bubbly and yummy like this:

This made enough for 6 people plus at least 2-3 servings for leftovers...you could freeze this too!

To go along with the lasagna, I made a suuuper easy caesar salad.  I'm not a big fan of the raw egg - anchovy version therefore I created my own using these ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 small cup of plain yogurt {I used Dannon All Natural}

1/2 cup of mayo

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons of spicy brown mustard {Dijon works too}

1 garlic clove

Salt & Pepper

Grated Parmesan Cheese

First, you start out with adding the plain yogurt and mayo to a mini food processor:

Then comes the red wine vinegar, mustard, crushed clove of garlic, cheese, and salt and pepper, just throw it all in there together!

Blend until it comes out like this: 

In the meantime, prep your lettuce {wash & dry} then I like to add shredded cheese of some kind, tonight I just used mozzarella and croutons:

The add the dressing over the top and mix.  I normally have some left over to use another day :)  If you have a small family, you can cut the recipe in half.

Definitely give these recipes a try, they are delish!  Super easy and yummy.  

Thanks for reading & have a great day!

Kaitlyn