Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Hi everyone! I want to thank everyone for their sweet comments on my last post! Now I have something sweet AND savory to share with you. I'd only ever had butternut squash mashed, but I thought it might be really good cut into cubes and roasted too, and it WAS! I love this stuff. I think the only thing I would do differently next time is cut the cubes bigger, because they shrunk so much by the time they were done. I served these alongside pork chops, which I will share the recipe for those with you another day..so in the meantime, enjoy this beautiful fall dish!

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Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash

2 Teaspoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

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Directions:

Cut up your squash into cubes, making sure to remove the skin as you go, you can either peel it with a vegetable peeler, or just cut the skin away, which is what I did and that worked perfectly as the squash is a little odd shaped to peel with a peeler. Also, you can easily remove the seeds and pulp by simply scraping it out with a spoon. Place your cubes in a bowl and pour on your olive oil and maple syrup, and sprinkle in your salt & pepper and mix everything well. Pour squash out onto a cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, all depending on how big you cut your squash.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Hi there! It's been longer than I thought since my last post, my apologies! It has been a crazy last week around here, my husband and I found out that we are expecting our first baby in early July..we are thrilled! This will most definitely be the best thing I've ever baked up! :) I look forward to keeping you all up to date on our little cupcake! Now how about a recipe? Who doesn't love cheesy garlic bread? I made this to go along with some chicken Parmesan, one of my favorites! This is so simple, and so easy, give it a try on your next Italian meal night! ;)

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Ingredients:

1 Loaf Good Italian Bread (I got a beautiful Tuscan bread from Target's bakery)

1 Stick Butter, softened

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Teaspoon Flat Leaf Italian Parsley, chopped (I would suggest using a bit more, my husband is picky though and doesn't care for too much!)

1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

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Directions:

In a small bowl, add your softened butter, garlic and parsley; mix until well combined. Slice loaf of bread in half length-wise and spread half of the butter mixture on each of the insides of your bread. Place on a cookie sheet and put under the broiler until the bread turns golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/4 of the Parmesan on each half of bread. Return to the broiler until the cheese turns golden brown. Cut into slices.