right turn ahead

Greg loves butternut squash ravioli. Every time I head to Trader Joe’s I always make sure to pick up a package (or two) of their premise ones because, for him, it’s the perfect dinner. Awhile back I was at Trader Joe’s and they were all out of this beloved pasta I panicked a little. What do I do?!? I didn’t really want to hand make ravioli… but I didn’t want to let my man down! A quick internet search took me to Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells and away I went.

I was being rather lazy and the thought of cubing and roasting a butternut squash was not something I wanted to do for dinner. So, I found a nice can of butternut squash to use in place of the fresh. While this was an easy shortcut, I do think I paid for it in flavor. The fresh roasted butternut squash probably would have had a more robust flavor, so next time I think I will try it that way.

After booking the shells and allowing them to cook, the filling came together rather easily. I liked the fact that the recipe called for some spinach- I thought the green was a nice complement to the colors of the dish. Plus, it made me feel a slight bit healthy!

After baking the shells in the oven the recipe calls for a sauce of browned butter and safe to be poured over the top- so decadent! It was a great dish that would be awesome for entertaining a crowd because it can all be prepped in advance. It was tasty and Greg loved the leftovers the next day, too.