Butternut squash is a staple at my family's Thanksgiving dinner. I am not a fan.
I like butternut squash when it's cut into chunks and roasted with something sweet, like brown sugar or maple syrup, but this is not how butternut squash is served at our Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, my mom cuts the squash in half and roasts it in the oven with a little butter (or butter spray), and then mashes into a baby food consistency. Yes, baby food. I remember my mom defrosting boxes of frozen squash and using them as baby food, and that is exactly what our Thanksgiving butternut squash looks like. As my husband says, it looks exactly like it sounds - squashed.
However, I discovered that this preparation of squash or those boxes of frozen squash are great for making some awesome macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and cheese is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish in the South, so combining squash with mac and cheese is doubly festive. Plus, the 10-ounce boxes are on sale for $1 this week at my grocery store, so they're definitely a good bargain this time of year.
The recipe I use is Rachael Ray's Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (FYI - Boo is her dog). She uses the frozen squash in a box, but if you have Thanksgiving squash like my family (or the fresh is on a great sale), you could substitute the mashed fresh stuff instead. If you're a fan of baked macaroni and cheese, I recommend the Harvest Moon Macaroni. It's almost the same recipe, but finishes with a few minutes under the broiler to get that nice brown top on it.
The squash really makes the sauce creamy and adds great depth of flavor without really changing the taste of macaroni and cheese. These recipes use ingredients that are already inexpensive, but also takes advantage of some Thanksgiving ingredients that can be picked up for a bargain this time of year - squash, chicken stock, and fresh thyme.
And who doesn't love macaroni and cheese?
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