Roasted Butternut Squash

Maybe it's just me, but here lately, it seems that every time I take on a cooking/baking project I end up feeling like I'm on a time crunched reality show.

So it's New Year's Ever. My husband has a group of friends that have gotten together every year ever since they were underage revelers in high school. This year, it was our turn to host the party. This meant making dinner. Normally, this is a fun event where I can try out creative new recipes. This year however, I worked the three days prior and had some really bad shifts to top it off.

When December 31st rolled around, first I couldn't get out of bed. I finally drug myself out because I had 6 miles on the training schedule and the fitness center would be closing at noon. I rolled in at 10:45 am, got my 6 in, but didn't finish all my core exercises and stretches before I got kicked out at noon.

Then it was home, shower, and the grocery store - a total madhouse on New Year's Eve. I had a "simple" menu in mind...

Appetizers
Boiled shrimp with St. Elmo's Steakhouse cocktail sauce
Brie baked with cranberry sauce in crescent roll dough

Salad
Field greens (they come in a tub) with glazed walnuts and cranberries (they come in a bag), bleu cheese, pears, and balsamic vinaigrette

Main Course
Apple Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Butternut Squash
Corn
Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Dessert
Flourless Chocolate Cake

Dinner was scheduled to be served at 7pm. Oh... and I didn't really know how many people were coming either! So I got back home at 3 pm and the madness in the kitchen started...

Boil shrimp and cool.

Make the flourless chocolate cake and put it in the oven.

Make the

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Peel butternut squash and cut into bite-size cubes.

I'm wanting a sous-chef at this point!

 

 

Mix with 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, and enough olive oil to coat.

 

Spread onto lined cookie sheet and cook for 1 hour.

 

Done!

This is one of my favorite "go to" veggie recipes for big gatherings. Simple but a little different.

 

Meanwhile my cake got done.

 

I threw the squash, corn, and broccoli into 3 separate crock pots to keep warm.

 

Then my guests started arriving at 5 pm. Aaack! I'm not really ready!

 

Shrimp and super hot cocktail sauce go out.

 

Brie gets topped with cranberry sauce and wrapped in some crescent rolls and goes in the oven for 20 minutes.

 

Pears get chopped and salad thrown together. I was going to individually plate the salads but gave up on that idea at this point.

 

Last thing was to cook the apples and tenderloins. Miraculously, I got everything on the table by 7 pm.

Ended up with 9 adults and 4 kids for dinner with more arriving later. So there you have it, sit down dinner for 13 in 4 hours.

So how was your New Year's Eve? Did you cook?