Recette

This was sooooo good that I had to share. Please note that I don't really use recipes so this is rough and tumble and will need your good judgment and flexibility. My cardinal rule is "taste and adjust!"

Butternut Squash over Wild Rice with Habanero Cream Sauce
(*Note: I use "cream" loosely.)

1 Butternut squash, peeled and sliced in rings
olive oil for brushing
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 habanero, seeded, de-veined, and finely minced (use latex gloves or put one hand inside a bag to otherwise protect yourself. Our hab was not incredibly hot or I would have used 1/4 if it was)
6 pcs turkey bacon, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 can cream of celery soup (or a Bechamel if you have more time than me)
1/4 c organic milk
1/4 c shredded cheese
3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 c prepared wild rice blend

Brush each side of your butternut squash rings with olive oil. Dust with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes at 365 degrees (I don't know why I turned it to that, but that's what it landed on), flipping once.

Have rice simmering during this time as a wild rice blend can take up to an hour.

Saute onions, bacon, and pepper in butter until the onions are translucent. Add the soup (or your lovely sauce), the milk, and the parsley. Let simmer five minutes or so and remove from heat to thicken. Stir in cheese and allow to melt.

Dish up the rice, top with the squash (cut into smaller chunks), top with sauce. Enjoy!

I had originally envisioned an actual cream sauce with shaved Parmesan or Taleggio. Didn't have any on hand and I'm usually too health conscious to consider using large amounts of cream and butter. Although sometimes you just have to...

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Also, thank you so much to Anajz at The Sustainable Backyard for my fun-to-read award. Anajz, you're so kind! I truly thank you.