Can you believe that it is the last week of October? Each week and month seems to go by faster than the next. Before you know it we will be celebrating the New Year and it will take me 2 months to get used to writing 2016 instead of 2015 on everything! Ok but I am getting ahead of myself! The fall weather has been gorgeous and I have been cooking all of my favorite fall recipes including Stew in a Pumpkin, which was the first recipe I posted on Ski Boots in the Kitchen three years ago last week! It’s hard to imagine it has been three years! It has been so much fun cooking and writing recipes and even more fun when I hear that you’ve been cooking my recipes. This year I am doing Thanksgiving dinner at our new house in Park City and I have already started to think about what I am going to make, stay tuned in the coming weeks for some fun Thanksgiving recipe ideas.

I came across this recipe for Butternut Squash and sausage stuffed shells and it sounded so good I had to try it. It was a delicious balance of fall flavors, spicy sausage, and creamy cheese. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash and Sausage Stuffed Shells (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 2 cups spinach
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 pound jumbo shells, cooked al dente
• 15 ounces ricotta
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup parmesan, shredded
• 1/4 cup mozzarella, shredded
• Additional parmesan, shredded
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange onion and butternut squash in an even layer on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast for 50-60 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage over medium heat. When sausage is mostly browned, add spinach and garlic. Cook until spinach is wilted and remove from heat.
3. Place roasted butternut squash and onion in a food processor or blender.
4. Pulse until a smooth puree forms. Blend in milk and vegetable broth. Pour half of the butternut squash sauce into base of a 9×13 baking dish.
5. In a large mixing bowl, stir together ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and egg. Add sausage and spinach into ricotta and stir until evenly distributed. Fill cooked pasta shells with 3-4 tablespoons of filling.
6. Arrange shells in butternut squash sauce in the 9×13 baking dish. Pour the rest of the butternut squash sauce over the top and bake for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil followed by 15 minutes uncovered. Top with additional parmesan.