If ever there was a year to dive into cooking, 2020 is it! And after the week we’ve had…comfort food seems like the best option. I love being in the kitchen – it becomes like meditation for me to just focus on the task at hand and when I can produce something the nourishes my body and my soul I feel such a sense of pride and accomplishment.

I really try to take advantage of seasonal squash this time of year. I’ve always been a squash and pumpkin fan. The story goes it was such a favorite of mine when I was a baby that my skin actually took on an orange tint! So if you like squash as much as I do…here’s a few recipes I know you’ll enjoy!

• Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese I made this recently using this recipe as a guide…but I used Havarti and Gruyere with the cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan and Asiago. I am usually in the camp of using more cheese than a recipe calls for…but this recipe really doesn’t need extra cheese. It’s pretty extra to begin with! Next time I make it I might add some broccoli or spinach into the mix because I am a child who likes to hide veggies in my mac and cheese.
• Baked Gnocchi with Butternut Squash and Kale I just made this on Wednesday night and it was the perfect cozy dish for watching stressful election results. A couple notes: I like to add a splash more liquid than the recipe calls for to make it more saucy. And, as with almost any recipe, I add more cheese (the Mac and Cheese above being the exception to that rule). Also I usually scale back on the kale. The recipe calls for 3 bunches and I just find that amount overwhelms the rest of the dish. You can get away with 1 bunch or 2 if you really like kale. I used about 2 bunches this week to make up for the fact that the rest of my diet has consisted of Cheetos and Poptarts.
• Turkey Pumpkin Chili Fair warning – I am not a chili purist. I love putting beans and other veggies into my chili and this is a fun and yummy recipe. The link includes both slow cooker and instant pot instructions. Also, if you don’t eat chili poured over Fritos…try it.
• Roasted Acorn Squash Cut an acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place in a pan cut side up and put a generous amount of butter into the hollow and rub/brush it all over the surface of the squash. Salt and pepper and roast in a 375 degree over for 45-60 minutes until the flesh is soft and brown around the edges. This can be served as a side or, as I prefer, just put the squash half in a bowl and go to town! This is something we had occasionally when I was little and it is such a comfort food for me.

In an effort to diversify my diet and avoid turning orange again, I do venture outside of the world of squash. A couple other recipes on heavy rotation during the fall are:

• Santa Fe Chicken Serve it over rice or as taco/burrito filling in a tortilla. Super easy, brainless meal to throw together in your crockpot or instant pot.
• Sheet Pan Salmon, Potatoes and Broccolini This one is too easy. Put everything on one pan and pop it in the oven. If you can’t find broccolini you can just use broccoli. Or asparagus.
• Polenta with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions I do not use a recipe for this. I make the polenta according to the instructions on the package, add a generous amount of butter and Parmesan cheese to taste along with some fresh cracked black pepper. And then I sauté sliced onions and bell peppers in a hot cast iron pan until they are soft. Next, push the peppers and onions to the edges of the pan so they continue to cook down and add sausages to the middle of the pan. Italian sausage, kielbasa, or andouille will work just fine. Once the sausages are cooked through, polenta goes into a bowl and it topped with the peppers, onions, and sausage. Yum!

If you try any of these recipes I’d love to hear what you think! Happy eating.