Baked Shells With Winter Squash

Another food that we like a lot - squash! We make calabaza (pumpkin) very often so when I saw this dish I hopped on it. We added a few things from the original which was taken from marthastewart.com

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

•  butter, for baking dish
• 4  tablespoons olive oil
• 2  large onions, halved and thinly sliced
•  coarse  salt and pepper
•  crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1  large red bell peppers or 1  large green bell pepper, halved & seeded and cut into thin strips
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1  lb small shell pasta
• 1 (12 ounce) package  frozen  winter squash puree, thawed
• 1 1⁄4 cups  grated parmesan cheese
• 3  slices  crusty baguette, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
4. Add onions & peppers; season with salt and pepper.
5. Cover; cook until onions are soft and release liquid, 15 minutes.
6. Uncover; raise heat to medium.
7. Cook, stirring, until onions are browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Stir in 1 teaspoon rosemary.
9. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes less than package instructions suggest.
10. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking water.
11. Return pasta to pot; add crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
12. Stir squash and reserved pasta water into onions; simmer 2 minutes.
13. Toss squash mixture and 1/2 cup Parmesan or more, with pasta.
14. Transfer to prepared dish.
15. Combine bread cubes with remaining Parmesan, rosemary, and oil; season with salt and pepper.
16. Top pasta with bread cubes; bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
17. Serve with a salad of sliced tmatoes and crunchy bread sticks.