Meatless Monday with Baked Shells with Winter Squash

Another Meatless Monday is here and we bring you another great vegetarian meal sure to please everyone.  Baked pasta is a great way to get kids interested in a meatless meal as it is easy to hide the vegetables. Now this may be a recipe where vegetables are featured more prominently but by combining them with cheese and pasta you are making this meal much more palatable for picky eaters. This healthy recipe comes courtesy of the Everyday Food kitchen.  For those who are not cooking show aficionados you should know that they strive to make easy every day meals and are a part of Martha Stewart’s empire.  Recipe calls for organic produce but if not available, you can purchase non-organic.

 Ingredients

• Butter, for baking dish
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large organic onions, halved and thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 pound small pasta shells
• 1 package (12 ounces) frozen winter squash puree, thawed (or you can make fresh)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 slices crusty baguette, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until onions are soft and release liquid (about 15 minutes).  Uncover; raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until onions are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in 1-teaspoon rosemary.
2. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes less than package instructions suggest. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the water from the pasta. Return pasta to pot.
3. Stir squash and reserved pasta water into onions; simmer 2 minutes. Toss squash mixture and 1/2 cup Parmesan with pasta. Transfer to prepared dish. Combine bread cubes with remaining Parmesan, rosemary, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Top pasta with bread cubes; bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

This is a delicious easy meal, which would serve six. Add a side salad (organic if possible) and this simple pasta dish turns into a complete meal. You can either buy the squash needed for the recipe or when it is in season freeze it in its prime. Preserving vegetables in this way is a great means for having great tasting vegetables year-round.  We hope you enjoy this great easy and healthy meatless meal.