Macaroni and Cheese with Butternut Squash, Kale, and Sausage

A.k.a Squasharoni as Pippa just dubbed it. This is decadently creamy with layers of butternut squash, kale, and sage sausage. It’s got great textural variety and richness. This recipe takes a while with multiple steps but it’s 100% worth it, especially on a cold day when you need comfort food and an all-in-one meal. Tonight we heaped it into a bowl and ate it cozied up on the sofa but it would be a great meal for company with a side salad and bread.

What you need:

1 normal sized butternut squash, peeled and chopped (not the 5 lb behemoth that the instacart shoppers always seem to pick out)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bunch of Lacinato kale, stems removed and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp of dried thyme

1/2 tsp of dried sage

Freshly ground salt and pepper

1 lb bulk pork breakfast sausage with sage

8 oz of macaroni pasta (half a 16 oz box)

2 cups of half and half

1 cup of shredded Italian cheese blend (Fontina, Parmesan, Asiago)

6 slices of skim mozzarella to cover the top of the dish (the sandwich size slices)

Begin preheating the oven to 425° and chop the butternut squash into bite sized pieces. Put the squash into a 9x13 casserole dish and drizzle over the olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast the squash for 20-25 minutes or until you can easily pierce it with a fork. Remove from heat and turn down to 350°.

Meanwhile, brown and crumble the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. When the sausage is thoroughly cooked add it to the same dish as the squash. If there is an excessive amount of pork fat in the skillet remove some but leave a smidge to sauté the shallots, garlic, and kale in. Add the shallots first and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle over some salt. Add the kale and begin to wilt. When the kale is almost fully wilted add the garlic and turn down low. You don’t want to burn the garlic. Add another pinch of salt and cook stirring minimally while the garlic aromas release. Now add the kale, shallots, and garlic to the dish with the squash and sausage.

Bring a separate pot filled with enough water to cook the pasta to boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cook it al dente because it will continue to soften in the oven later on.

After the kale mixture has been removed from the skillet add 1/2 tsp of thyme and sage and keep it on low heat. Pour in half and half and shredded cheese and cook stirring slowly over low/medium heat while the cream thickens and the cheese melts. It should gently bubble. Add in some freshly ground pepper. I like pepper, so I added a lot. When the cheese is melted pour the entire mixture into the baking dish and stir everything to combine. Add a little more pepper if you desire and then place the sliced mozzarella on top. Add another light dusting of sage and thyme on top and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and gently brown the top for 2 minutes. Enjoy!

*Johnny added red pepper flakes to his dish, it was a great addition!

Chicken and Zucchini Enchiladas

Aka Effortless Enchiladas! These are uncomplicated yet incredibly delicious. I wrote the recipe for 4 using only half of a rotisserie chicken because I find myself with half of one all the time. The girls love chicken wraps in their lunch boxes and a Whole Foods rotisserie chicken is almost always in our refrigerator. I’m the only one who ever eats leftovers in our house so I’ve been working on making smaller meals that don’t have tons leftover. This would be very easy to double if you are feeding a crowd.

What you need:

1 small yellow or sweet onion

1 zucchini, chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, shredded

1/2 tsp of cumin

1/2 tsp of chili powder

Salt and pepper

smidgen of garlic powder

15.5 oz Red Enchilada Sauce (I like Hatch brand or 365)

8 oz of shredded Colby Jack cheese

6 corn tortillas, I love our local brand Ula blue corn tortillas

Fresh cilantro for serving

Begin by finely chopping the onion and zucchini and adding to a sauté pan with a little oil or butter and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes stirring occasionally while the vegetables soften. Add the spices and stir to combine to cooking for another minute while the spices release their flavors. Now add the shredded chicken, 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, and 1/3 of the cheese. Stir to combine and turn off the heat. In a 9x9 baking dish pour just enough of the enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Place one layer of tortillas on top of the sauce in the pan. Cut to fit if necessary, they don’t need to overlap. Then spread out the chicken mixture evenly on top of the tortillas. Add a second layer of tortillas and then pour the remaining enchilada sauce on the top. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of that and bake at 400° for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown on top. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes so the cheese coagulates and you can slice it easily. Serve with fresh cilantro on top. SO Good!

Roasted Chicken and Mushrooms

Yes, I say it all the time…but this recipe is SO easy. It takes a few minutes to assemble the ingredients and then the oven does all of the work. A spatchcocked chicken is the way to go here, you can buy them already butterflied or you can ask the butcher at your grocery store to remove the backbone for you. I do it myself, you can use kitchen shears or a good sharp knife and cut along the backbone to remove it and then flatten out the bird. This allows everything to cook more evenly and quickly. Surrounding the chicken with mushrooms to soak up all yummy chicken juices might be my new favorite way to make mushrooms. SO GOOD!

What you need:

One whole chicken, spatchcocked

16oz of mushrooms, any variety. I used a combination of shiitake, hen of the woods, oyster, and cremini

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

2 tbsp salted butter

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450°. Add cleaned mushrooms and chopped shallot to to a roasting pan and drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil over the top and then sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. Add the rosemary and parsley. Stir to combine the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper and then move them to the outer edges of the dish. Meanwhile pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and cut the butter into 4 equal pieces (1/2 tbsp each). Gently separate the skin of the chicken and tuck the butter between the skin and breasts. Drizzle one tbsp olive oil on top and one tbsp Dijon mustard. Rub the olive oil and mustard all over the skin of the chicken and then add some salt and pepper. Add a pinch of dried rosemary. Lay the chicken skin side up on the pan and surround with the mushrooms. Roast for about 45-50 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 160° It will continue to reach 165° to 170° while resting. Stir the mushrooms half way through and rotate the pan if it is browning unevenly. Let rest for about 10 minutes before carving the chicken. Enjoy!

We served with caramelized parsnip purée but would be great with potatoes or risotto too.