Butternut Squash “Cheesy” Bake – Dairy and Gluten Free

What childhood foods make you think of spring?

Immediately my brain goes to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese…yes the kind straight from a rectangular blue box. It was probably the easiest meal mom could pull together after an exhausting day of being outside playing softball for hours in the sun…but ahh that sun after months of winter was worth it.

Since my life doesn’t include nearly so much cheese now, definitely no hot dogs and as it turns out I’m not really a pasta fan…well this childhood meal needed a complete overhaul.

Dairy Free Butternut Squash “Cheesy” Bake

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp gluten free flour
• 1 tbsp almond meal
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp stone ground mustard
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion onion powder
• 1/2 – 1 cup shredded kale
• salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 2 cans tuna, 2 sliced chicken sausages, or 1 cup lentils will turn this into a casserole instead of a side dish! I chose to use Tuna…which the cats appreciated.

Vegheads like me can also add in 1 cup steamed broccoli…or more, I may have added a lot more in my dish :)
Directions

1. Turn on oven and preheat to 400 degrees
2. Bake squash 5-7 minutes on foil lined tray {or lazy man’s version like me buy frozen pre-cubed and steam in microwave}
3. In a small pan on medium heat cook quinoa
4. When finished add in almond milk, nutritional yeast, olive oil, garlic and onion
5. Once mixture begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low and mix in flour and mustard
6. Spray casserole dish or rub with coconut oil
7. Remove cooked butternut squash from oven and pour in casserole dish
8. Add in cooked quinoa mixture and kale; lightly mix
9. Add in protein source if making into a casserole {again I used tuna}
10. Pour sauce over the top
11. Sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp of almond meal
12. Bake 10-15 minutes until the top starts to brown.

Anyone else feel like your cat actually knows the difference between a can of beans and a can of tuna when it’s on the opener?? Madison certainly knows when David has a bowl of ice cream versus soup and she sits patiently at his feet until he is scrapping the bottom…then she is rushing in for her part before he makes it to the dishwasher!A little calorie break down of my butternut squash recipe version with tuna {4 large servings}:

Have you made over any classic dishes for your family?

What foods drive your cats wild?

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