After last week’s mac and cheese venture, I started thinking about what other yummy combinations I could come up with to jazz up this childhood favorite.

Since it’s October, I started thinking about squash and pumpkins. I just made pumpkin pie, so squash it is!

Butternut squash is in season in October, it’s insanely delicious and it’s a great source of so many nutrients, so it counterbalances the whole pasta and cheese thing.

Sort of.

For this dish you will need

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into one inch cubes

1/2 pound of rigatoni (use more if you want to make a bigger portion of course. And don’t sweat if you don’t have rigatoni. I actually used 1/2 rigatoni and 1/2 penne because that’s what I had)

1 cup milk (whole, skim, whatever you use)

Grated gruyere (I am never one to dictate the amount of cheese another human being uses)

1/2 a small white onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

olive oil

In a large oven proof casserole pot, drizzle olive oil and sautee the onions, garlic and squash.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions.

When the squash starts to brown a bit and the onions are translucent, add the milk. Let this cook over medium until the squash is fork tender.

The squash should be done about the same time as the pasta. Drain the pasta and set it aside for a minute.

Turn down the heat on the squash and milk mixture and add in the gruyere, stirring until it is melted.

Add in the pasta and stir.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Serve up heaping bowls. Squash. Pasta. Cheese. How could that be bad?