It’s hard to believe that in less than two weeks I will be packing up my stuff, leaving Seattle, and heading back to the Midwest. Have I really been here 4 months already?! Although I’m so-incredibly-very-extremely excited to get home and see my family, I sure am going to miss Seattle. I mean, what’s not to miss?
There’s the hiking:
The mountains:
The markets:
Being within driving distance of this:
And the food! Oh my gosh don’t even get me started. I have had the best meals of my life here, eaten with my very favorite people in the world. They were meals of love, laughter, and pure deliciousness that I will never, ever forget.
Since I am moving, I am trying to clean out my cupboards while still making legitimate meals for myself. I had half of a butternut squash from Thanksgiving that I had chopped up and stuck in the freezer(yes, you can do that!) along with a box of rotini pasta. Luck had it that I also had half of a package of bacon in the freezer also and before I knew it, I was whipping up a delicious dinner.
This recipe comes from Cooking Light but with the bacon and cheese in it, you’d never know it was a light recipe. I’m actually not sure how they can pull off calling it “light” but I’m not going to argue. This is pure, cheesy, delicious comfort food!
Butternut Squash and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
from Cooking Light
makes 4-5 servings
2-3 cups butternut squash 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz penne, rotini, or macaroni pasta
6 slices of bacon
3 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (they recommend 1-2% but all I had was skim)
1 cup Italian Blend shredded cheese
1/3 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss squash in olive oil and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on baking pan and roast in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, while the squash is cooking (towards the end of the 45 minutes), cook the pasta according to the package. Also, fry the bacon. When the bacon is done, pour off all but 1 tbsp of the drippings. Let the bacon cool and then crumble. Set it aside. Cook the shallots in the saved drippings over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until translucent.
When the squash is done roasting, turn oven up to 450 degrees F. Combine squash, bacon, and shallots, mixing to combine. Set aside.
In a large sauce pan, add the flour and 1/2 tsp of salt over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in the milk to make a roux. When all the milk has been been added, bring to a boil for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded Italian cheese. Add the pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spread pasta into 9×13″ baking dish, and top with squash mixture.
Top with grated Parmesan cheese and place in oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to become golden. Serve warm and enjoy!
greensnchocolate
greensnchocolate
greensnchocolate
I love Seattle too! How fun to be going home though.
What a fabulous recipe. You could have fooled everyone by never telling them that you used leftovers. This looks so gourmet and your additions make it that way.
that close up picture looks FANTASTIC! and i’d love to join merry mondays, thx for the invite
What a lovely dish!! I bet the flavors are pure comfort!
i’m so excited that you are coming home, i could just cry!! My girl’s coming HOME!!!
p.s. this recipe looks fabulous!
Ahhh…your pictures of Seattle are divine! I have not been there in a long time – it’s a tough road trip from TX! And the mac and cheese is perfect comfort food! Looks yummy! Safe travel!
Wow — awesome recipe!
Can’t wait to try it
I have never been to Seattle but after Grey’s Anatomy I have hoped to come and find a mcdreamy… Anywho, this looks so good- What a combo: pasta, bacon and cheese… mmm!
This recipe truly intrigues me. It is hard to imagine the flavor.
I could imagine how hard it would be to leave Seattle I hear its gorgeous!
x
Nicole
http://nicolefranzen.blogspot.com/
Mmm…love your macaroni dish…so comforting and delicious. Wish I can have that for lunch!
Oh, that sounds divine! Anything with bacon…
Oh my, bacon and cheese! That sounds so good! I can’t believe it’s considered a “light”! I definitely want to try this!
I love Seattle… I bet you will miss it when you move.
The pasta sounds amazing – everything is better with bacon.
That mac and cheese looks to die for–be still, my heart! Best of luck with the moving process!
Isn’t it crazy how fast time can fly?
And that’s a very impressive looking meal. Especially for using up ingredients before moving.
I adore Seattle! Sighh.. I can almost smell the market. I need to head that way. I hope you have a good break back home.
This pasta looks wonderful!
Laura
yum!
You had me with bacon…Sounds heavnly.
I would love to live in Seattle one day, so I can see why you are kind of sad to be leaving! But this dish – what a perfect pasta dish!!
Beautiful pictures! I’ve only been to Seattle once, but we fully enjoyed our day.
The dish looks amazing! I’m a big CL fan, but the dishes haven’t all seemed so “light” lately. No worries, though, still tasty!