easy as pasta

One of my husband's most favorite dishes that I make is this

Roasted Butternut Squash and Pesto Lasagna.

I layer the lasagna with delicious homemade basil pesto and roasted pureed butternut squash with sprinklings of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses throughout.

Sometimes I will put sausage in it too if I'm feeling extra nice to the hubs (because I'm not a meat eater).

So anyway, the other day I was getting ready to make the lasagna, as I had all the ingredients ready for it, but then I decided I wanted to try something different.

I wanted to use all the same flavor elements of the lasagna, but make it less labor intensive for moi.

I came up with this...

butternut squash pesto pasta with sun dried tomatoes

can we say delish?

I already had the pesto in the freezer waiting for me to dress it up with my love.

I just roasted the butternut squash, chopped up a few sun dried tomatoes, boiled the pasta and...

voila!

A delicious and healthy lunch or dinner (or breakfast even, if that's how you roll).

Here are the deets on how to get it done.

**But first, a disclaimer**

I am a home cook and a mom, so that leaves very little time for me to write down specific measurements while my mind is busy creating these masterpieces

(besides, you can't stifle the ar-teest with rigid measurements, can you?).

So, please take all measurements with a grain of salt

(hahaha I'm so clever)

and have fun with the recipes.

Ok, upward and onward then.

What you need for the pesto:

(or you can buy your fave kind from the store to make it even easier for you)

2 cups basil leaves

1/2 cup almonds, roasted (or use your favorite nut)

2-3 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

Puree the garlic and almonds in the food processor. Then add in the basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and blend. While the food processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto has a slightly runny consistency but still remains fairly thick (how's that for a measurement?!)

TIP~you can freeze whatever pesto is leftover. Just put in an airtight container and drizzle a little olive oil on top to prevent the basil from browning. Easy Peasy.

The rest of the ingredients:

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced.

About 10 sun dried tomatoes, sliced or diced

1 pound pasta of your choice

Put the diced squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast on high in the oven at 450 for about 20-30 minutes, until the squash is cooked through and you see some caramelization happening around the edges.

To finish her off, boil up a pound of pasta ( I used whole wheat shells ) and toss in the pesto until the pasta is coated. You may add more olive oil if it seems too dry. Or if you're in a very naughty mood, you could even add some heavy cream to the pasta and pesto for a creamier version.

Add in the squash and sun dried tomatoes and toss altogether.

Grate some fresh cheese on top if your heart desires and that's it!

(I find the sharper cheeses like Asiago, Pecorino Romano, or Parmesano Reggiano taste best on this!)

Healthy food makes a happy girl!

And tasty food makes a happy home!

This one here is a little of both.

Enjoy!

Welcome to my world, where food is the star and I am just a gal trying to make it fun and delicious for us all.