Autumn-in-a-Bowl

Oh, my. There's another Fall Fest going on in my kitchen tonight.

We're talking roasted butternut squash, toasted walnuts, and caramelized onions. Add this splendor-of-autumn mixture to whole wheat pasta. Did I mention the grated Parmesan?

Fall Foods: You bring me to my knees.

The latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine arrived in my mailbox last week. The Clean-Eating-Arrives-in-the-Mailbox Day is consistently a favorite in our house (it's the simple things in life, right?). Amongst endless mouth-watering seasonal recipes, I found one for Butternut Squash Lasagna with Toasted Walnuts and Caramelized Onions. Count me in!

Despite the alluring delicious-ness of this recipe though, I decided we needed something simpler for our humble dinner menu (Come on: Does anyone besides Martha Stewart really have time to whip up a lasagna after work?). As such, I eliminated the hallmark lasagna ingredients (ricotta, egg, marinara, etc.), and boiled this recipe down to it's basics. Clean. Simple. Irresistable.

Tastes like Autumn-in-a-bowl.

Adam went heavier on the pasta (his bowl is pictured), while I skimped on the pasta to leave more bowl-space for the squash...lots and lots of squash.

Friends, if you haven't hopped on the butternut bandwagon yet, it's not too late! Get to the grocery store, elbow your way to the squash bin, and load 'em up. These oddly-shaped gourds--and tonight's recipe--make me a very happy camper.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onions, and Walnuts

(when it's all said and done, this recipe was A Hungry Spoon creation; inspiration came from this month's Clean Eating Magazine)

This is the perfect Fall recipe. As noted above, I was so addicted to the squash n' walnuts, I barely left room for pasta in my bowl.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. box of whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• a little olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 onions, sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp. dried ground sage
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, toss squash cubes with a small drizzle of olive oil (just a tad!). Season with plenty of fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste. Arrange squash cubes in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 -25 minutes, until soft and cooked thoroughly. (Make sure you stir the squash every 10 minutes while it bakes!)

3) Cook pasta according to package directions.

4) Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until well-browned and soft (about 10 minutes). Add garlic and sage and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (if you like ground black pepper, it goes wonderfully with this dish!).

5) Pour pasta into individual serving bowls. Top each serving with the eater's desired amount of squash, onions, and walnuts. Top with grated Parmesan. (My husband, the forever Cheese-head, added a bit of grated Mozzarella as well).

6) Invite the neighbors over. It's Fall Fest at your house tonight!