I am Wonder Woman!

Justin was out of town this past weekend, leaving me to fend for myself. This isn't necessarily a bad thing... It's just that I always end up doing 10 million different things to occupy my time when he's not here. Take Saturday, for instance: Woke up (a little later than usual), attended to my whining felines, went for a little over a 9.5 mile run, showered, ate, went to the public market to fetch my weekly meat order and veggies, went to Wegmans to pick up all the other needed groceries, went home, put the groceries away, did a load of laundry, took my cat for a walk, cleaned my entire townhouse, changed the bedskirt/comforter in the master bedroom and finally took a rest at about 5:30 pm... for about 10 minutes... After all of that, I had yet to make myself some dinner. Something easy, tasty and hopefully involving some sort of libation:

Sausage Sauce and Squash

 Say that name 5 times fast... and yes, that is a glass of Scotch (15 year old Glenlivet french oak reserve, if you really wanna know)

Ingredients:

Easy Sausage Sauce

• coconut oil
• 1 lb ground pork sausage
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies, thawed
• 1 8 oz package sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jar Wegmans Grandpa's sauce
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• a splash of sherry vinegar
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• salt/pepper, to taste

Roasted Butternut Squash

• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
• salt/pepper, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Toss with a wooden spoon or spatula until the squash is covered.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the squash is browned and tender.
• Meanwhile, heat a little coconut oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
• Add the sausage and cook until browned. Spoon the meat into a bowl and save any residual fat.
• Add the mushrooms, onions and peppers to the pan. Saute until they're softened.
• Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
• Add the the sausage back to the pan, along with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the veggies are cooked through.
• Serve the roasted squash in a bowl, with the sauce poured over it.
• Pour yourself a glass of quality Scotch (or wine) and enjoy!

You could serve the sauce over some pasta if you want. Since going Paleo, I've have to find more interesting ways to keep my italian sauce meals sans gluten. Hence the roasted squash. It may seem a little strange in this sense, but it actually works really well! The sweetness from the squash helps to counteract the spice from the red pepper flakes. Give this a try and I swear you won't miss the spaghetti!

You could easily pour a nice glass of wine with this. While I do have quite a fondness for dry reds, I occasionally like to imbibe in something a little stronger... I just happened to have that nice Scotch staring at me from the kitchen. Add and ice cube and it goes down nice and smooth!