Garlic Chicken Butternut Squash Lasagna

Calling all Cave Boys and Girls!...This is a great one from Julie Bauer on the Foodee Project's site! Enjoy!

 

What you need:

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 head garlic clove, roasted
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 lb chicken, diced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 1/8 cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon basil (fresh or dried)
• 1 teaspoon parsley (fresh or dried)
• salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the end off the bulb of garlic to reveal the cloves inside. Wrap in aluminum foil and throw in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
3. While the garlic is roasting, you'll need to cut your butternut squash. Use a sharp knife ya dummy.You can do this a couple different ways but remember, you are trying to get the long squash into "lasagna type strips".
4. What I did (Megan and Brandon at Health-Bent taught me this): Cut the end off the squash, then use a peeler to take off the skin. Then cut the squash into 1/4s lengthwise. Remove seeds and strings. Then you can do 1 of 2 things: either use a knife to slice the butternut squash into strips or use a mandoline to slice the butternut squash into thinner strips (that's what I did).
5. Set aside and begin to make your chicken and sauce.
6. Add olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your diced onion to begin to cook. After about 3 minutes of coating your onions and bringing out their flavor, add your diced chicken along with a bit of salt. Let the chicken cook under low heat while you make your sauce.
7. Your head of garlic should be roasted by now, so pull it out of the oven and remove the roasted cloves and put directly into your food processor. You can you a fork to pull them out of just squeeze the b*tch. Up to you.
8. Add olive oil to your food processor along with the roasted garlic and turn your food processor on. Prepare yourself for your kitchen to smell like heaven. Sh*t, I love garlic. Once the garlic cloves have become a paste, add your coconut milk and tomato sauce along with basil and parsley. Pulse until saucy. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
9. When the chicken is ALMOST done cooking (yes, it can still have a little pink to it), remove from heat.
10. Now for the lasagna stacking. Pull out a 8x8 or 9x9 glass baking dish, coat the bottom of the dish with a bit of sauce, then add a layer of butternut squash strips, a layer of chicken, and a layer of sauce. Repeat until you are all out of chicken and butternut squash. The last layer should be butternut squash and topped off with sauce.
11. Bake, uncovered, for around 40-45 minutes. The squash should be tender BUT do not cut into it until it has set for a while. I gave mine about an hour. I know, I know, it sucks ass. But it will be a difference and will actually be like lasagna instead of a throw together. Got it? Cool.

Everyone likes sauce.

Everyone likes layers.

For more great recipes like these, check out the Foodee Project at http://www.thefoodee.com/

Ropa Vieja

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs flank steak, cut into 1/3′s
• 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 c  stock (any kind - lower sodium preferred)
• 2 handfuls of green, pimento stuffed, olives
• 2 yellow onions, sliced in ½ moons and then into strips
• 3 red peppers, sliced in ½, then sliced into strips
• 2 T olive juice
• 1 T cumin
• 1 t garlic powder
• hot sauce, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Method

Dump all the ingredients into a medium sized soup/casserole pot (anything you have w/ high sides that will fit a lid). Place the stove heat on medium, cover with the lid and let simmer for 1 hour. Remove the lid and simmer for another hour. You’re looking for beef that’s easily shredded. Take out the beef pieces and place onto a cutting board. Use two forks (one to hold the meat in place and the other to shred) to pull, (against the grain of  the meat) it into nice, thin shreds. Put the shredded beef back into the pot. Stir it around and serve. Traditionally, this Cuban dish is served with rice.

You can use your crockpot for this...I do!

Recipe from Health-Bent