A new twist on Lasagna..

And amazingly delicious dinner #2 is brought to you by PaleOMG.com.  I modified a little to suit my family's tastes better.  This sounds like it would be a little gross, but oh my heavens, it is delicious!!  There were absolutely NO complaints from my picky 5 year old and the 2 year old had seconds!!!  I made this in a 9x14 dish and I doubled - maybe tripled - the sauce.

Garlic Chicken Butternut Squash Lasagna

 

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 head garlic clove, roasted  (I used only about 4-5 cloves)
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 lb chicken, diced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk  (I used almond milk since that's all I had)
• 1/8 cup tomato sauce  (I used a bit more)
• 1 teaspoon basil (fresh or dried)
• 1 teaspoon parsley (fresh or dried)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the end off the bulb of garlic to reveal the cloves inside. Wrap in aluminum foil and throw in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
3. While the garlic is roasting, you’ll need to cut your butternut squashinto long "lasagna type strips”.
4. Set aside and begin to make your chicken and sauce.
5. Add olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your diced onion to begin to cook. After about 3 minutes of coating your onions and bringing out their flavor, add your diced chicken along with a bit of salt. Let the chicken cook under low heat while you make your sauce.
6. Your head of garlic should be roasted by now, so pull it out of the oven and remove the roasted cloves and put directly into your food processor.
7. Add olive oil to your food processor along with the roasted garlic and turn your food processor on. Once the garlic cloves have become a paste, add your coconut milk and tomato sauce along with basil and parsley. Pulse until saucy. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
8. When the chicken is ALMOST done cooking (yes, it can still have a little pink to it), remove from heat.
9. Now for the lasagna stacking. Pull out a 8×8 or 9×9 glass baking dish (or 9x14), coat the bottom of the dish with a bit of sauce, then add a layer of butternut squash strips, a layer of chicken, and a layer of sauce. Repeat until you are all out of chicken and butternut squash. The last layer should be butternut squash and topped off with sauce.
10. Bake, uncovered, for around 40-45 minutes. The squash should be tender BUT do not cut into it until it has set for a while. (I turned off the oven and let it sit in there for about an hour).

Some delicious dinners.. Stuffed Acorn Squash

The last two nights of dinners at our house have been AMAZING so I thought I'd share the recipes.

South of the Border Stuffed Acorn Squash from SparkRecipes

2 acorn squash
1 Tbl. Coconut oil  (I used Olive Oil)
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 pound ground turkey  (I used ground beef)
2 Tbl. chili powder  (I used MUCH less, maybe 1/2 tsp)
3 teas. cumin
1/2 c. tomatoes, chopped  (I used about 1 cup)

Cut squash lengthwise and clean out pulp and seeds, then bake at 400F in a making dish with 1/4 inch water, cut squash side down, for 30-45 min or until tender.

Heat oil in large skillet then add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are tender and translucent. Add peppers and cook 3 to 4 min. longer.

Add turkey/beef and spices and brown until turkey is good through. Stir in tomatoes and heat through. Take squash out of pan, and fill each half with meat mixture. Serve with salsa.  (Add cheese and sour cream for the kids if you want!)

Serving Size: makes 4 servings 1/2 squash each

Number of Servings: 4

I think we'll have some more of that!

So it's been 30+ days of better eating and it's been great!  I even fed my oldest and pickiest child spaghetti squash with veggies and chicken for dinner last night and I didn't hear a single whine about "Vegetables, again?!?"  And my littlest one gobbles up roasted butternut squash and cauliflower mash like somebody's out to steal it!

Hubby's feeling much better, and I'm feeling pretty good too.  I never thought the day would come that I would think my fridge didn't have enough crisper drawers!  I could use at least two more in there!  I've worn out one ceramic knife and my replacement is already becoming dull.  I thought ceramic knives weren't supposed to get dull!  I guess they never tested them in a kitchen like mine!

Though our main goal wasn't aimed to lose weight but rather to see how our bodies felt on a cleaner diet, both hubby and I have lost some pounds and inches along the way though.  Can't complain there either!  Since we've already seen the difference this eating makes, I think we'll keep it up.  We'd be crazy to go back to stomache issues, eczema, etc!

I would totally recommend anyone with weird healthy issues to give this a try eating 'Paleo/Hunter Gatherer' style (basically, veggies, fruits, and meat).  Give it 30 days and I bet you'll start seeing a difference in just the first two weeks!