What do you get when you combine macaroni and cheese, lasagna, and healthy?  You get this amazing lasagna that will rock your world. 

I was a little nervous about Bjork liking this (or, more accurately, not liking this).  After all, it does seem a tad girly considering I took out the meat and replaced it with a delicate butternut squash puree. 

But not to worry - he told me he liked it and ate the whole piece!  How lucky am I to have a butternut-squash-lasagna-liking husband!  Or at least one who pretends to like it!  It’s awesome.

I was also worried about this being kind of time-consuming.  I was looking for some inspiration online and found one recipe that required roasting the squash, pureeing it, and straining it through a cheesecloth - all before assembling and baking.

1. Ummm…. what is cheesecloth?
2. Where the heck do I buy a cheesecloth?
3. Can it be done without a cheesecloth?

Answer: Yes!  You will love me for this.  Unless you love using a cheesecloth.

I did add an extra 100 calories per slice by topping each piece with Gouda cheese and broiling it for a few minutes.  I think standing up to get yourself seconds will burn enough calories to negate the extra cheese. 

Butternut Squash Lasagna; serves 6 (HUGE pieces), inspiration from Veggie 101

• 4 cups butternut squash puree (i.e. Farmer’s Market Organic canned)
• 1 1/2 tbs. sel de cuisine (features cinnamon, rosemary, and salt)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 short whole wheat lasagna noodles
• sliced cheese to top pieces (optional - but not really)

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine squash purée, sel de cuisine, garlic, salt, and pepper; mix well. Combine ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper in second bowl and mix well.

2.  Coat 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Put a little butternut squash on the bottom of the pan.  Place 2 noodles in bottom of dish, overlapping slightly. Spread half of squash mixture over noodles. Layer 2 more noodles on top, and spread with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat layers—noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta—then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

3. Bake for 45 minutes.  Top with sliced cheese and bake/broil an additional 5-10 minutes.

Tip: covering the lasagna might help the top not to get so crispy looking - especially if you don’t plan on melting cheese over each piece.  It might also help keep some of the moisture in.  I made this uncovered and it tasted great, but next time I would either cover it while baking or add a little more liquid, like vegetable stock or something, to keep it super creamy!

Breaking News: Bjork just walked by me eating a jumbo bowl of Fruity Pebbles (30 minutes after eating lasagna).  Maybe the squash didn’t quite do it for him after all.

But if you’re a butternut squash lover (and looking for healthy comfort food), I promise you will love this as much as I did!

Or at least you’ll tell me you love it before you go for the Fruity Pebbles.