Butternut Squash Lasagna

Today is the first day in ages that I haven't had a million things to do, so I am doing exactly what I want!  Which is, sitting in my pajamas well past noon, writing blog posts, and clicking through Pinterest. 

I created this recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna last week, upon the request of my BFF who was 39 weeks pregnant.  This morning she had her sweet baby girl, so in her honor, this is the recipe I am sharing with y'all today!  Enjoy, it was truly scrumptious!

Ingredients:

1 pkg of no boil lasagna noodles {if you haven't used these before, I promise you'll fall in LOVE}

1 large butternut squash

2 cups of fresh baby spinach

1 - 8oz. pkg of cream cheese 

1 stick of butter

2 1/2 cups of warm milk

1 cup of parmesan cheese

2 cups of ricotta cheese

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

1 cup of vegetable stock

1 egg

2 tbs granulated garlic

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 bunch of fresh sage

Directions:

Step 1:

Begin by cutting your butternut squash in half and scooping out the seeds. {Tip: if you have trouble getting your knife through the squash, try gently tapping it with a rubber mallet.}  Season with salt, pepper and a little granulated garlic.  Rub with olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until fork tender, 20-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Step 2:

Melt butter and cream cheese in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add garlic powder and whisk. It will look lumpy!  Slowly poor in the warm milk and whisk well, until smooth.  Add the parmesan cheese and switch out your whisk for a wooden spoon.  When the parmesan cheese is melted, add the two cups of baby spinach and two finely chopped sage leaves.  The spinach will begin to wilt into the sauce immediately.  Stir in the nutmeg and remove from heat.  An optional step, but one I preferred, is to use an immersion blender and give the sauce a good pulse or two to blend up the spinach. Set aside until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Step 3:

In a large bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of milk, egg, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper.

Step 4:

Once the squash has cooled enough to handle, scoop the flesh away from the skin.  Place the squash in a blender or food processor and add 1 cup of vegetable stock.  Pulse/puree until smooth.  

Step 5:

It's time to assemble! Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then spray a casserole dish with non-stick coating.  Poor a ladle of the spinach alfredo on the bottom of the dish, then add your first layer of noodles.  Top with butternut squash, then another layer of noodles.  Add a layer of the ricotta mix, top with noodles, add a layer of alfredo and repeat, alternating between the three sauces.  Be sure that your last set of noodles gets topped with the alfredo sauce, then finish it off with the leftover mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.  Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Step 6: 

Is optional, but I like to garnish the lasagna with a little bit of fried sage leaves. Then I dig in.  And man, is it good!

Note:  This dish is very easy to make, but it does take some effort to get everything prepared before you're able to assemble.  It would be perfectly fine to make the squash the day before, and refrigerate it to save time.