Sunday Gourmet

Thursday, Friday, Saturday- they all came and went in one major blur of a couple of days! They were full of work, meetings, extra curricular work events, planning and craziness! While they didn't leave me a whole lot of extra time- Thursday I crashed around 7:30, and Friday I didn't get home until 8:30- they definitely left me wanting some normalcy this upcoming week. 
We did a little bit of shopping Saturday afternoon. While perusing Tom Leonards, a place I often forget to go into but enjoy everytime we do, we came across a different kind of marinara. A jar of Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash immediately caught my eye. A quick peak at the ingredients, and I decided to make my own version at home!
This morning, after a fast, windy, run, I got to googling Butternut Squash Sauces. I wasn't too excited about my findings, as most weren't exactly what I was searching for flavor wise. Many of them were squash and sage sauces.  I found 1 website listing similar ingredients as the Dave's jar.  I shut the computer and decided to wing it- tasting and altering as I went along.

I've never tasted Dave's Gourmet sauce before, so I'm not sure if this is a knock off or not- but it sure was delicious! This has a hint of marinara, but definitely not in the traditional sense.  The squash makes it creamy, and sweeter than tomato marinara.  We served it over whole wheat spaghetti noodles with a handful of arugula, roasted and sliced portabellas, and finished it with goat cheese- I'm definitely excited for tomorrow's lunch leftovers!

Butternut Squash Marinara

1/2 large butternut squash roasted (in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes)

5 cloves of roasted garlic (how to)

1 carrot roughly chopped

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 large red pepper (roasted red pepper)
Basil (if using fresh, use a large handful- if using dried do a couple heaping tablespoons)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup water- depending on desired consistency
3-4 Tbspn Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Put everything except the water in a food processor. Let it whirl for a couple of minutes, before heating on a stovetop. While heating the sauce up stir in water until your sauce reaches your desired cosistency. For me it was too thick not to add the water, but everyone's tastes are different.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Looking into this week, I'm excited to see the snowy forecast, is now more rain!  I may get to  work 1 whole week in January!!! I can't believe the first month of 2011 is nearing it's end... 56 days until Spring!