Thursday, March 13, 2008

What's For Dinner?

For those who haven't heard yet, I joined Weight Watchers as a tool to help me achieve my New Years Resolution. It's been working great, I've lost 21 pounds so far and am well on my way to my goal weight. I do it all at the WW website because I'm just not a meeting kind of person. Anyway, I found this delicious recipe on their website and we had it for dinner tonight. It was so simple to make, super tasty and only 7 points. I highly suggest that you add it to your dinner rotation!

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage

POINTS® Value: 7

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

The slightly tart buttermilk in this creamy pasta sauce goes beautifully with the sweet butternut squash. Fresh sage just seals the deal.


Ingredients
1 sprays cooking spray
20 oz butternut squash, fresh, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch chunks*
8 oz uncooked bow ties
1/8 tsp table salt, for cooking pasta
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
5 1/3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano recommended, divided (1/4 cup plus 4 tsp)
3 Tbsp fresh sage, minced


Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.


Place squash on prepared baking sheet and roast until tender and starting to caramelize, about 25 to 30 minutes.**

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. After squash has been roasting for about 15 minutes, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot.

Add squash, buttermilk, salt and pepper to pot; toss over low heat to warm through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and sage; toss to mix and coat.
Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of pasta into each of 4 serving bowls; top each with 1 teaspoon of remaining Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.


Notes
*We used a 20 ounce bag of fresh, peeled squash to help streamline the recipe’s preparation but you can peel and cube a 1 1/2 pound squash yourself if you prefer.


**You can microwave the squash instead of roasting it: Put squash in a shallow microwave-safe baking dish or container with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and microwave until tender, about 10 minutes; drain.


If you don’t like sage, this recipe is also delicious with fresh basil or chives.

This dish does not reheat well. We recommend you make it just before you’re ready to serve it.

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