Butternut Squash Lasagna

We love butternut squash (well at least my daughter and I do). Two years ago we tried growing it on trellises and found it was not only supper easy but we got a ton of them. There are a lot of ways we use this sweet creamy squash but one of my favorites is this lasagna. My daughters favorite is homemade raviolis! This is a great meal for the holidays we had it at Christmas since it can be put together before the big day and just popped in the oven. 

Like most lasagnas this one has three layers which can all be made at separate times and then put together when ready. Making your own ricotta cheese in a crock pot is super easy (and much cheaper then store bought) it requires only two ingredients, milk and lemon juice. My instructions for ricotta can be found here.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

3 cups grated mozzarella cheese

9 Lasagna Noodles*

Filling

1 Butternut Squash

1 tbs chopped fresh sage, bay, or basil leaves or a combination.

3 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan

2 eggs

Sauce

¼ cup butter

¼ cup flour

3 cups milk

Pinch of nutmeg and sage, bay, or basil

Filling

Wash the squash and place the entire uncut squash in a 400º preheated oven on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-90 min depending on the size of the squash. It is done when a knife easily slides through it. Let cool before removing the skin and deseeding. Chop up the flesh and place it in a blender or food processor to puree. 
Mix the squash puree, ricotta, parmesan, eggs and spices together in a large bowl. Refrigerate mixture until ready to assemble. 

Sauce
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted add the flour and spices and stir to cook for about 1 min. Pour all of the milk into the pan and whisk to incorporate all the flour.  Continue to stir until the sauce thickens this could take about 5 min. 

To Assemble
This works well in one 13x9 inch dish or two       inch dishes. Start with a layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish and place noodles in a single layer on top of the sauce. Place a layer of filling and then a layer of cheese on the noodles. Continue with another layer of sauce, noodles, filling, and cheese. I usually make 2-3 layers depending on how deep my dish is. End with a layer of noodles, then cover with sauce and sprinkle on a bit more cheese. 

To Bake
Place lasagna in a 375°F preheated oven for 30-40 min or until the sauce is bubbly. Remove from the oven and keep covered in foil for 5 more min before serving.

To Freeze  
Before baking the lasagna can be frozen for later use. Place a cover over the top of the dish and freeze for use later. When you are ready to eat the lasagna take it out of the freezer and cover the dish with foil. Bake in a 450°F oven for 40-50 min or until the sauce is bubbly. Remove from the oven and keep covered in foil for 5 more min before serving. 


*I find if you leave the lasagna covered with foil during the entire cook time and for 5 min after removing from the oven you do not have to preboil packaged noodles. If you are using homemade noodles then you can remove the foil for 5-10 min at the end of the cook time to brown the cheese on top.  

Creme Eggs

I love the Cadbury creme eggs they have always been one of my favorite parts of Easter. Knowing all I know now though with the artificial colors and flavors in them I no longer want to buy them or let the kids eat them. So this year I decided to make my own since I can make candy corn and conversation hearts I knew I could figure out creme eggs. 
I made these without any added colors, I always use natural food dyes for my sweets but for these I wanted to try for dye free. Making them without colors required me to make 2 types of fillings both are delicious on their own but putting them together makes the classic white and yellow look. If you want to you could just make the white filling and take some out to color yellow instead of making the second filling. 
These can be made 2 ways either in molds or on sticks. I like the molds but the sticks are fun too. Any egg mold will do I found some plastic ones at Hobby Lobby for $2 each, I think they are intended for peanut butter filled eggs. With this recipe I was able to make 40 of the eggs.

Here are the recipes for the fillings and the chocolate followed by my instructions for making eggs. There seems to be a lot of instructions but they are actually quite easy to put together.

Thick Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

¼ cup water

Over low heat in a small saucepan heat the sugar and water stirring constantly. Remove from heat once the sugar is dissolved. 

Agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup can be used in place of the simple syrup remember each adds its own flavor to the filling.

Yellow Custard Filling
¼ cup butter
¼ cup heavy cream
1-4 tbs thick simple syrup
1 egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla
Pinch salt (optional)

In a medium saucepan heat the butter, cream, and simple syrup over low heat stirring until the butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in egg yolk*. Continue to whisk and place it back on the heat cook over medium-low heat until mixture coats the back of a spoon this will take about 3-5 min. You can till it is done if you run your finger over the back of the spoon and it leaves a trail. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and salt.Stir well to thoroughly mix. Allow to cool slightly then place in a covered bowl and place in the fridge.

*If the custard starts to get little piece of cooked egg in it immediately pull from the heat and strain the mixture. It will still work just fine.

White Crème Filling

½ cup thick simple syrup

¼ cup butter softened to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

3 cups powdered sugar

With a mixer cream together the simple syrup, butter, salt and vanilla. Sift in the powdered sugar. Slowly beat the sugar into the butter mixture 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Place in a covered bowl and refrigerate.

Chocolate Egg Coating

2 cups of chocolate chips

You can use any chocolate chips you like, milk, semi sweet, dark or a combination of chips.

Using a double boiler melt the chocolate over med heat. Stirring the chocolate as it melts till smooth. Remove the double boiler from the heat. If the chocolate starts to harden or gets thick you can easily warm it back up.

Putting together the eggs

Using a mold

Make the fillings and place them in fridge to firm up for 10-20 min. While the fillings are hardening melt the chocolate and use it to paint the insides of the molds. Remember to be sure to put a thin layer around all sides. Place the molds in the fridge for 5 min until they harden. 

Next you need to fill the molds. This is the method that worked best for me. I also tried pipping the filling into the eggs but I kept overflowing the eggs. With a little more practice the piping might work just as well. 


Take the molds and the yellow filling out of the fridge. Place a small amount of the yellow custard in each mold. I filled about 1/4 - 1/3 of the mold with the scoop of yellow custard. 
Next take out the creme filling. Working quickly, so the filling does not get to warm and sticky, scoop out a small amount of creme filling, just enough to fill in the rest of the mold. If the fillings start to get sticky place it back in the fridge for 5 min to harden up. The filling is very easy to work with when it is cold but next to impossible to work with when it is warm.

Flatten out the creme slightly and place it in the mold pressing down lightly so it fills the entire mold. Once the molds are filled place them back in the fridge. while you warm the chocolate back up.

Reheat the chocolate and paint a thin layer of chocolate on each mold completely covering the filling. Place the molds in the freezer for 5 min to firm up and make removing from the mold easier. 
When ready gently push on the top of the molds to get the eggs to pop out. Store what ever you do not eat immediately in a lidded container in the fridge. They will also do fine sitting out on the counter unless the room is quite warm. Just like chocolate chips they will soften if the temperature is to high.

On a stick

Make the fillings and place them in fridge to firm up for 20 min. Remember to take out the fillings (as needed) and work quickly, so the filling does not get to warm and sticky. If the fillings do start to get sticky place them back in the fridge for 5 min to firm up before continuing.

Start by making small balls of the custard and placing them on a parchment paper lined try. Then place the trays in the fridge.

Next take out the creme filling and make flat circles with it. The circle need to be large enough that you can wrap it around the custard balls you made. Place the circles on a parchment paper lined tray and then in the fridge to firm up before continuing. 

After about 5 min take out both of the fillings and place the ball of custard in the middle of the crème circles. Place a stick in the custard and fold up the crème around the custard and stick. Smooth the creme into a ball or egg shape they look best if you can make them slightly smaller at the top and a bit rounder at the bottom. Place each egg on the parchment paper lined tray. Then place them in the freezer so they get really firm for dipping.

While the fillings are freezing melt the chocolate. Take out the fillings and carefully dip each in the chocolate fully covering them. You may need to smooth the chocolate around all sides of the eggs or use a spoon to pour chocolate over the eggs so they are fully covered. Make sure you are only putting on a thin layer of chocolate or it will drip everywhere. Place them back on the parchment paper or stick the bottom of the sticks into a Styrofoam block so the sides are not flattened while they dry. After dipping place them back in the fridge to harden.

Valentines Conversation Hearts

Here is another special holiday recipe. Just like candy corn at Halloween growing up conversation hearts were Valentines Day. These hearts are vegan if you use the agar and agave, unlike the store bought ones which contain gelatin and by using natural food dyes and organic flavorings they are chemical free! They also taste so much better then the chalky hearts you find at the store.

Candy Hearts

2 tbs agar flakes or 2 tsp agar powder*

3/4 cup water

2 tsp agave or honey
9 cups powdered sugar

Flavor extracts*

Food Colors

Extra Powdered Sugar

Heat water, agar, and honey in a pan over low heat till agar is dissolved. Be sure to watch closely and stir constantly add extra water 2-3 tbs at a time if needed. Be sure to stir the mixture close to constantly you do not want it to burn. Beat together the agar mixture and 1 cup powdered sugar in a stand mixer. Add another cup of sugar mix until incorporated. Continue adding sugar 1 cup at a time mixing well after each addition and periodically scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue to add sugar until a stiff dough forms you may not need all of the 9 cups of sugar before the stiff dough forms but you should use most of it. If the dough stiffens up too soon you may need to add up to 1/4 cup more water in order to incorporate more sugar into the dough.

Dust a work surface with sugar. Place the dough on the work surface and knead dough until satiny and not sticky anymore. Divide the dough and add colors and flavors. About ⅛ -¼ tsp flavoring and 4-5 drops of color for each section of dough. Knead in the color until evenly distributed, this takes quite a bit of work since the dough is very stiff. I knead, roll, and rub the dough until the color is even. If the dough feels very dry dip your fingertips in water and place a few drops at a time on the dough. It will get sticky very easily if it gets too sticky add more powdered sugar.

Dust the work surface with more sugar and roll out to desired thickness between ¼ -1 inch. For smaller hearts the dough should be rolled thick for bigger hearts roll the dough thinner. Cut out desired shapes and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with a towel and let dry for at least 24 hrs.I like the flip my hearts about halfway though drying time to evenly dry out both sides.If you can wait even longer they get more crunchy each day. I think they were completely dry all the way through by day 4 but then there was only a few left by then!

Messages can be written on the hearts with a little bit of food coloring and a toothpick. Be sure to wait until the hearts are completely dry before writing on them or else the dye will run.

*Flavors we used in our hearts
Lemon
Orange
Vanilla
Almond
Peppermint

If you would rather use gelatin replace the agar with 2 tsp gelatin, decrease the water to 1/2 cup and increase the sugar to 11 cups.

Candy Corn

For the last 3 years we have been making our own candy corn. Conventional candy corn is often filled with chemical dyes, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and gelatin all things we avoid in our house. Although it is quite a process to make candy corn (the shaping and cutting is the longest part) it is well worth it. I must say it tastes so much better then store bought and it has the added bonus of not having any nasty chemicals.
Next year I think I am going to increase the honey and decrease the agave (which is really just a very processed sugar just like corn syrup). 

Candy Corn

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup agave nectar or corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla
5 tbs butter

1 cup sugar –the candy corn base will turn out the color of the sugar

Use white sugar for a real white base, turbinado sugar for a slightly off white base, and rapadura sugar for a brown base.

Natural food coloring

Sift together the powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.

In a saucepan combine the agave, honey, vanilla, butter, and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil for 5 min, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture to the agave/honey mixture. Mix well until fully incorporated a whisk works well. 

Let sit for 20 minutes or until slightly warm and easy to handle.

Place the dough on a large sheet of wax paper or other nonstick surface.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add food coloring to one section of dough at a time. Kneading the dough to work in the color until it is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth. Repeat with the other 2 pieces. If leaving a section white knead it until it is smooth but do not add any color.

Most Halloween candy corn is white, orange, and yellow but you can use any colors you like. 

Roll the dough into long ropes, dividing them as needed so the ropes are easy to handle.

Line up the dough with the other colors and gently squeeze them together to form a long rectangle.

Using a sharp knife cut the rectangle into triangles. The tips will alternate colors.

Smooth out the edges and dust or roll in cornstarch to make them a bit less sticky.

Lay them out in a single layer on a surface lightly dusted with cornstarch. If possible let them sit for 24 hours to dry out. Not many of mine ever make it this long! 

*The dough can be used to make any shape you want- Try making little orange pumpkins out of the dough or just break off little pieces and roll them in to a ball for a much quicker way to make little candies.