Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Polenta Bake

Food Items!

• 1.5 cups polenta
• 1 lb. butternut squash
• ~ 3 oz. crumbled blue cheese
• ~ 3 oz. of ricotta cheese

Cooking!

1. Heat your oven to 375F and bake squash until tender, about 45 minutes. (Note: I didn't do this, but I'm pretty sure it will make this a lot easier.)
2. Bring 3 cups of water to boil (you won't be draining this because that would just be silly, so don't just fill your pot, :D)
1. While that's going on, mix your dry polenta with 1 cup cold water and little bit of salt. (I haven't actually tried it any other way, but I'm pretty sure this step makes it less likely that the polenta will get all clumpy.
2. When the water is boiling, add the polenta mixture and stir it for a bit. Reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. It will be kind of a grainy thick paste when it's done. 
3. While that's going on and after your squash is done, get all the fleshly part out from the rind and put in a mixing bowl. Mix in the cheeses. It looks kind of gross but it tastes nommiful :D



Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese mixture


4. Grease a baking pan (I used one about 6x4x2.5 but I would recommend something more along the lines of a 9x9 square, maybe a little bit smaller) and spread a third of the polenta along the bottom. Put half the cheesy squash mixture as a layer, then more polenta, then the rest of the cheesy squash and then the rest of the polenta.
5. I topped mine with a bit of chopped fresh sage but that is totes up to you.
6. Let the whole thing cool down to room temperature for about an hour. Then, chill it in the fridge for at least three hours, I did mine overnight. 
7. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

After Eating Note: I find this a little bland; I think the cheese I used wasn't quite as pungent as I would have liked. I've been eating leftovers with spicier stuff on the side: tonight I had it with homemade spaghetti sauce and spinach (that turned out quite nicely!) and I'm thinking about cooking up some black beans and salsa to go with it another night this week.