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Hey Sacramento, City Editor Madeline here. One of the biggest privileges of living in Sacramento is the year-round farm fresh food at our fingertips. I’m on a mission to find recipes that use the fruits of our city’s labor — Fall produce edition.
Anyways, there’s quite literally nothing I hate more than a lengthy intro before a recipe, so I’m going to get straight into it — Butternut Squash Casserole.
Yes, it’s good. Yes, it’s easy — and most importantly? Yes, you can prep it fresh + local.
What you need
- 3 cups of kale, roughly chopped | EcoFriendly Greens
- 1 butternut squash, one-inch cubes | Full Belly Farm
- 1 lb of ground beef | Sunfed Ranch
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced or chopped
- 2 tbsp of sage, chopped
- 2 tbsp of thyme, chopped
- 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 cup of sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs | Raley’s
- 2 tbsp of Italian seasoning | The Allspicery
- 2 tbsp of olive oil | The Chef’s Olive Mix
Let’s get cookin’
- Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a 13x9-inch baking dish with oil (spray or brush).
- While oven is preheating, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan with half of your onions + garlic.
- Once onions + garlic are fragrant, add in ground beef with a few pinches of salt and black pepper. Cook until meat is brown throughout.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the beef, squash, onion, leek, kale, garlic, sage, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Toss to get everything evenly mixed.
- Arrange vegetables in an even layer in the baking dish. Bake until squash is tender, ~30 minutes (Pro tip: make sure kale isn’t too close to the top of the casserole or it will burn).
- After 30 minutes, evenly top casserole with mozzarella and sharp white cheddar.
- In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning + remaining olive oil, then sprinkle evenly over cheese.
- Keep baking until cheese is melted and bread crumbs are golden brown, ~10 to 15 minutes.
- Enjoy — okay not yet, let it cool down at least a little you maniac.
This recipe is almost entirely inspired by Casey Elsass’s Butternut Squash Casserole recipe — just with some personal twists.
And yes, I’m definitely eating the leftovers as I write this, and it’s still so good.