Running Mama Cooks

I usually make a dessert for Thanksgiving but this year I decided to contribute a side dish. I came across this recipe on the Beantown Baker and had to try it. I love spinach and I love squash, how could I go wrong?

It was really unique and delicious. I will definitely be making this again. It was a lot of prep work, but easy to put together once all the chopping was down. The only change I would make next time is to add more pecans, possibly double what the recipe calls for.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Bake
Recipe from Beantown Baker

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 6 cups)
10 oz fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, trimmed, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups)
1 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup bread crumbs, toasted
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking dish or 4-quart casserole.

Place 3 quarts water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the squash to the water, return to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. The squash will turn a deeper orange. Add spinach to squash and boil one more minute. Drain squash and spinach and set aside.

Melt the butter in the stockpot and add the oil. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent and limp, about 8 minutes, stirring to prevent browning. Add the warm squash and the buttermilk, eggs, thyme, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1/8 cup pecans and 1 1/3 cups cheese. Blend with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients are well combined.

Spread the mixture evenly in the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 cup pecans and 2/3 cup cheese. Bake 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

And now some holiday pictures!

The table at my Aunts house, Thanksgiving #1 for 48!!

Me and the kids

Zach and I

We started a new Thanksgiving tradition this year by running the Turkey Trot 5k in Morristown. Zach and I woke up early, dropped Cecily off at my mom's house and headed to Guinty Field (a 5k course we've run 2 other times) to run. We met up with Kathy and her two daughters and joined almost 1500 others in this fun Thanksgiving race. My time was 33:15, definitely not my fastest 5k, but since it was 4 days after a half marathon, I'll take it!

Our Thanksgiving consists of two stops, my Aunt's house for my family and my in law's house. Fortunately they are only 10 minutes apart, but we do a lot of eating on this day!! Good thing we ran in the morning!

My contribution to Thanksgiving was a Pumpkin Cheesecake. I decided to try Paula Deen's Recipe after watching her make it on her Fall Harvest show.