See what happens when the kids sleep in...

Happy Wednesday everyone, we have made it to the middle of our work week! My son had hockey practice last night so we didn’t get home until late. The kids are sleeping in which is wonderful. Dawson slept until 7:50 and Bella slept until 8:10, that’s a few extra hours than normal in this house. So I thought I would create something new and different to try for dinner tonight. There are more steps than I would normally do for a weekday meal but now that it is done and ready to throw in the oven all the fuss seems worth it. Plus the house smells AMAZING!


Sweet Potato and Onion Stuffed Manicotti with Butternut Squash Sauce

1 large onion chopped
3 Tbs butter
1 tsp garlic power
¼ tsp salt
8 oz. box of Manicotti
¼ C. Chicken Broth
¼ C. Apple Juice or Cider
1 ½ C. Mashed Sweet Potato
1 C. Shredded Asiago Cheese

Saute onions and butter until soft, then add garlic powder and salt. Turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

While the onions are cooking boil the Manicotti according to box directions.

After the onions have simmered for 15 minutes add chicken broth and apple juice. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add the onion mixture to the mashed sweet potatoes. You could use left over mashed sweet potatoes or peel and boil your own before making. It is an extra step but doesn’t take too much time. In order to get the amount of sweet potatoes that you’ll need for the recipe I used 2 small and 1 large sweet potato.

Once the manicotti is boiled you can start to stuff them with the sweet potato mixture.

Preheat oven to 375 and begin making the Butternut Squash Sauce.

Butternut Squash Sauce:

1 1/2 cups butternut squash
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups apple juice
Dash of Cinnamon
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tbs butter
½ C. Parmesan

Peel and cut butternut squash into small chunks. You can even buy butternut squash cubes in the produce section. That’s what I did and it saved a ton of time!

Boil all ingredients except butter and parmesan until squash is soft. Separate the liquid and the squash.
DO NOT throw away the liquid!

Mash the squash, butter and parmesan together with a mixer. Mashing will leave the sauce like more of a chunky sauce, kind of a marinara sauce type texture. If you want a smooth texture you can puree the ingredients.

Grease a 9x13 pan and pour just enough of the sauce into the pan to coat the bottom. Place the manicotti in pan. Top with the Sauce and Bake for 15 minutes until bubbly.

Try to leave a little bit of the sauce in a bowl so you can top the manicotti with some before serving. Make a big side salad and you’ve got yourself a heartwarming comfort meal!

We will be taste testing ours tonight and will let you know what reviews I receive. I do know that the Sweet Potato & Onion filling tasted delicious! And the Butternut Squash Sauce was mighty tasty also. The two combined should be a treat!