Roasted Butternut and Cauliflower Casserole

This dish--or should I say these dishes--are totally autumn. I am in the midst of researching some fantabulous sides for Thanksgiving. The Diner News for November is traditionally all about the biggest food holiday of the year--at least for those of us in America. The rest of you, just adopt our holiday if you want. I don't get to use butternut squash too often.  It is a little on the carby side. When I do use it, I generally add in another vegetable to stretch out the servings. This one is using cauliflower, a great low carb choice with good flavor of its own.

Oven roasting makes all the difference with these veggies. The butternut squash gets creamy and sweet. Despite the extra arm workout, I chose to cube the squash. Baking halves is easier, but then you get mashed squash, and that would never do for this culinary adventure. The roasted cauliflower offers a good texture and the little browned bits are wonderful. Roasting is definitely worth the time. Even though it is a steamy 85 degrees at our Oklahoma home today, I fired up the oven. After cranking up the air conditioner, I helped myself to a  nice sized helping here. Delish! You can choose it as a side, like I will at Thanksgiving, or as a main dish with the addition of some pre-cooked brats.What's more Octoberfest-esque than that?

The little bit of cream and cheese just takes this dish over the top. You can leave them out, and it will still be great, but oh my goodness, add that cheese and it is really special. Special enough for the grand holiday, I think. Simple, but wonderful.

Roasted Butternut and Cauliflower Casserole

6 cups of Butternut squash cubes
1 fresh cauliflower
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese (or any easy melting variety)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Peel squash. Cut it into bite sized cubes. Break cauliflower into bite sized flowerets. Place vegetables into a casserole dish. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until tender.

Remove the casserole from the oven. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top and pour the cream over. Let his sit for 5 minutes. When cheese has melted, gently stir the vegetables to coat them with cheese and cream.
To make this into a main dish, stir in sliced, fully cooked bratwurst sausages.

The stats for this one ( no brats) if you can stretch it to 12 servings: 9 net carbs, 108 calories, 7 grams fat

When looking at the ingredient list, I want to say this is too simple and too easy. Truth is, cutting that squash is a bit of a workout. I hear you can buy it in some produce sections already cubes, For the big day, it might be worth the investment. Until then, I will cut and peel for myself and count it as exercise. The flavors are simple and natural. This stuff is really too good to mess with. It should serve 12--but I doubt it will here. Too yummy and not enough other goodies to compete with it today! I would love to try this with Delicata squash, but two grocery stores and none to be found in my parts. Soon, I hope. That would lower the carb count.

If you have a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, please consider sharing it for the Diner News. I have covered all of our old favorites and I am on the hunt for some new things to try. I would love to include some Diner Fan recipes. Just go here to link to my email. If you aren't already a subscriber to the Diner News, and you send your recipe, I will send the November edition to you for free!