Baked Shells with Winter Squash

I decided to toss out the spicy black bean cakes recipe. If I'm going to go through all that for a black bean recipe, I might as well just make black beans and rice. So, here's another from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

Serves 6.

• Butter, for baking dish
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 pound small pasta shells
• 1 package (12 ounces) frozen winter squash puree, thawed
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 slices crusty baguette, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions; season with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until onions are soft and release liquid, 15 minutes. Uncover; raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until onions are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon rosemary.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes less than package instructions suggest. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking water. Return pasta to pot.
3. Stir squash and reserved pasta water into onions; simmer 2 minutes. Toss squash mixture and 1/2 cup Parmesan with pasta. Transfer to prepared dish.
4. Combine bread cubes with remaining Parmesan, rosemary, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Top pasta with bread cubes; bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

RESULTS: I really liked this one, and Chris didn't hate it. The onions get nice and sweet (I only used 1/4 of one white onion. I think you can adjust it to taste) and it's the same color as Kraft mac and cheese, but without all the powdery guilt. :) The best part was definitely the bread cubes on top, especially since I defrosted some of the homemade bread and used that. I might try those bread cubes on other casserole-type dishes. Wait till the bread gets nice and brown.