Harvest Moon Macaroni Ala Rachael Ray

I saw this on the 10/25/08 episode of 30 Minute Meals and just had to try it. It was WONDERFUL! Even my husband who isn't the biggest fan of squash in general really enjoyed this. The recipe calls for a 10oz box of frozen butternut squash, but I couldn't find that ANYWHERE I looked so I just bought a butternut squash, halved it, seeded it, and roasted it in a 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half and then peeled it and pureed it. I used about a quarter of it for this recipe, and the rest I'll reserve for butternut squash soup this fall. I thought about using jars of butternut squash baby food, but thought better about it for my first attmpt at this, but after pureeing the squash with a little bit of water, I'm sure baby food would work out just fine in this if you're okay with that.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6

Ingredients

• 1  lb macaroni
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3  garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2  tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 3  tablespoons butter
• 3  tablespoons flour
• 1  cup  chicken stock or 1  cup  vegetable stock
• 1 1⁄2 cups  whole milk
•  salt, to taste
•  pepper, to taste
•  nutmeg, to taste
• 1 (10 ounce) box  frozen butternut squash, defrested (see description for details) or 1⁄4 medium  butternut squash, roasted, seeded, and peeled (see description for details)
• 3  dashes  hot sauce
• 1  cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1  cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1  handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1  teaspoon sweet paprika

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Preheat broiler
3. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat and saute onions and garlic until soft, about 6-7 minutes, stir in the thyme.
4. Scoot the onions off to the side of the pan and melt the butter.
5. Combine the flour and the butter, whisk about a minute in the pan.
6. Whisk in the stock and the milk and season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, cook until thickened about 3-4 minutes.
7. Stir in the butternut squash and a few dashes of hot sauce.
8. Reduce heat, when the sauce comes to a bubble add in the parmesan cheese and stir to melt.
9. Combine the sauce and the pasta and transfer to a casserole dish (9X13 works well) and top with cheddar cheese.
10. Place the dish under the broiler for about 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and browned.
11. Top with the chopped parsley and paprika to garnish.
12. Enjoy!