Butternut Squash Casserole with Pico De Gallo

 I recently made butternut squash for the first time ever.  It was amazing.  I made a casserole with chicken, whole wheat pasta and shredded parmesan cheese with pico de gallo.

Here is my recipe:

Casserole Ingredients:

1 Large Butternut Squash 

3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Medium yellow onion

1 Box of corkscrew whole grain pasta

1 Small can of cream of mushroom soup

1 Can of chicken broth

1/4 Cup of vinegar

1 tsp. Minced garlic

1 tbl spn sea salt

1 tsp chili powder (optional)

1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)

1 tsp ground cumin powder

1/3 cup of olive oil

16 pieces of 1.5 x 1.5 inch havarti or gouda cheese or shredded parmesan cheese

1. Trim excess fat from chicken breasts and chop into small pieces.  Place in bowl with vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt, chili powder, turmeric powder, and cumin.  Stir and sit aside,

2. Peel squash (squash is super firm. Try to use a really good potato peeler if you have one.  I carefully used a sharp knife).  Once peeled, cut in half and scoop out seeds, then chop into bite size chunks.

3. Chop and dice the onion.

4. Add about 1/2 cup olive oil to a large skillet, cook chicken, then set aside in a bowl.

Then, add 1/4 cup of olive oil or coconut oil to skillet and saute squash.  After about 5 minutes add the diced onion, a little chicken broth and continue to saute until squash is tender.   Season with salt and pepper.  

6. In the meantime, cook pasta to al dente.  Once cooked, drain.  In large bowl, add cream of mushroom soup to pasta with rest of chicken broth. (I added a little green onion to this mixture as well)

7. Stir well then add cooked chicken and squash/onion mix.  Spray baking dish with cooking oil, and add pasta mix.  

8. Cover with shredded cheese parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Pico De Gallo Inredients:

1 large avocado

2 roma tomatoes

2 to 3 stalks of green onions

1 lime 

Cilantro

Salt and Pepper
Balsamic Vinagrette

Chop green onion, roma tomatoes, cilantro and avocado.  Add to bowl and mix with fresh lime juice, salt and pepper.

Garnish butternut squash/chicken/ pasta casserole with pico de gallo, balsamic vinagrette and voila!

Bon Apetite