Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

Guys, I’m so far behind! I have so many things I still need to share with you but just haven’t either made the recipes or assembled the posts- the recipes from my cooking class in Italy, and also the finished coffee table ottoman I made!

But in the meantime, you’ll have to settle for this grilled cheese, which is pretty darn delicious. I mentioned this very early on in my blog, but Nate is a creature of habit. He literally eats the same breakfast and lunch EVERY day of the week. So occassionally, on the weekend, he’ll request grilled cheese instead of his daily turkey sandwich. 

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

I usually just use up whatever is in the fridge on these days, sometimes coming up with really good combos. That’s how this sandwich came about. I do often add pesto to his grilled cheese, but on this particular occassion there was some leftover roasted butternut squash.

The combo of the squash, the pesto and the melty cheese was just too good not to share. I think you could also use some thanksgiving leftovers for a very tasty grilled cheese combo- maybe with some sweet potatoes? some cranberry sauce? Oh man, the combinations are endless!

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

On other fronts, I’m scrambling to make decisions on my house because it’s going much faster than I thought. The demo is complete and framing will apparently be pretty much done by the end of next week. Because of this, my contractor informed me that I need to pick out my roof color by this Friday (!). And then I need to pick out all my bathroom fixtures and cabinetry by the end of next week so that the plumber will know where to put the plumbing. I didn’t realize that the cabinet itself made a difference, but they need to know how high any shelves inside it are, etc, that would obstruct the pipes so they can plan accordingly.

Needless to say, for a decision-making-a-phobe like me, I’m getting quite stressed out :( I really thought I’d have more than 2 wks to decide everything!

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

Also, this weekend we went down to Nate’s moms and I had him videotape me preparing a dish so I could enter The Great American Cookbook Competition. It’s some contest Rachel Ray is having that my aunt told me about. I highly doubt I’ll win, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try :) Hopefully Nate can make me look better on the video through editing than I actually came across on tape, because I most certainly could never be an actress. 

I hope that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Chanukkah to those that celebrate!!!

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese
This isn't really much of a recipe, but more of an idea
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Ingredients
  1. Bread slices
  2. Cheese slices
  3. Leftover roasted butternut squash, cut into slices
  4. Pesto
  5. Butter
Instructions
  1. Spread the insides of the bread slices with pesto. Top with a couple slices of cheese and then then enough squash to cover. Using a knife, spread/flatten the squash as much as possible.
  2. Close sandwich and spread butter over the outsides of the bread. Cook in a pan or in a panini press (my favorite way to make grilled cheese) until cheese is melted.
  3. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. The possibilities of fillings inside grilled cheese are endless!
https://elephanteats.com/

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms ~ ElephantEats.com

We headed down to my mother-in-law’s for the long Easter weekend. Since Nate was in California for a couple months, we hadn’t been down since Christmas and it was nice to just relax and eat tons of yummy food.

Tired Haley

Nate’s mom totally spoils us and we both got giant Easter baskets filled with our favorite candy. She got me Peeps!!!

Peeps are yummy

We also dyed some Easter eggs. This here is our easter egg family. Do you see the resemblance?

Easter Egg Family

The paw print one was Nate’s representation of L.C….not bad.

But I think my version of Nate was pretty spot on ;)

Easter Egg Beardo

Since Nate’s mom was going to cook a big meal for us for Easter dinner, I decided to make a yummy appetizer for the night before. This is another of those recipe’s from the recipe box I got handed down from my mom. I remember her making these for dinner parties and some catering too.

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms ~ ElephantEats.com

They’re super easy to make and only take 10ish minutes to cook! You can totally make them ahead of time and they can sit out til you’re ready…or you can probably even make them the day before if you really want, and just keep them in the fridge.

Definitely keep this recipe on hand for your next dinner party or just to make your weeknight dinner a little fancier :)

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms ~ ElephantEats.com

Stuffed Mushrooms

From mom’s recipe box

Print this recipe!

Serves 8-10 (can easily be halved with no probs)

25-30 lg. mushrooms, stems removed
2 cups sourdough breadcrumbs (i used regular but I think it wasn’t as good)
1/2 cup pesto
1/4 cup pignoli nuts, toasted
3-4 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
3-4 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine crumbs, pesto, nuts, parsley and basil. Slowly mix in broth until moist but not wet. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill Mushrooms. Top with cheese. Bake 10-12 min.

*Must serve hot!*