Hello to you all! I apologize for my absence in the last several months. I do feel like I have somewhat of an excuse as we just gave birth to our third child (our first girl) on August 21st! Nora Kathryn is a bundle of love, and I am definitely enjoying the fact that I have another girl in the house! 🙂

Still, all of that to say…I have missed you, my friends, and I am very excited to start posting again. Over the past months of preparing for our baby, I have also spent some time putting together recipes to post, and the one I am about to share today will not disappoint. In fact, you can ask my (almost) 2 year old what he thought of it last night as he shoved in his 4th helping! 🙂 I can definitely say that I felt I have scored a “mommy win” with this dish.

A huge thanks to He and She Eat Clean for this amazing recipe! Scott and Whitney Carlson are the authors of this blog; I found this delish dish off of their website, and am super excited to share their recipe with you. I have adapted it with a few changes, but the majority of the recipe remains the same. Check out the original recipe here, and while you are at it, take some time to browse around for a few more of their recipes! 🙂 Enjoy this easy, budget-friendly, and delectable casserole!

Ingredients:
2 c cooked shredded chicken (Leftover rotisserie chicken works great.)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I measured approx. 3 cups uncooked squash.)
1/2 c coconut cream (Skim this off the top of a can of coconut milk. It works best to refrigerate
the can overnight for this. Do not use low fat coconut milk, people! Full fat is best and truly much
better for you!)
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 leek, chopped
3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1.25 c frozen green peas, thawed
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375. Place the cubed butternut, leek, and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a bowl. Toss to combine. Next brush the cloves of garlic with a little coconut oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Place the leek and butternut squash mixture on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and set in the oven. Take the wrapped garlic cloves and set these in the oven next to the cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes. (Roasting these veggies is a key component in the flavor of this casserole.) 🙂

Place the roasted leek and butternut in a large bowl. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skin into the bowl as well. (CAUTION: The cloves will be extremely hot, so you will need to let them cool. Using a hot pad, unwrap the cloves and place them in the fridge until cool enough to handle!) Mash the butternut/leek/garlic mixture to a smooth, yet slightly chunky texture.

Add apple cider vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, oregano, and thyme to the mashed butternut squash and stir to combine. Add coconut creme and oil. Stir to combine. Next add the shredded chicken and green peas, and stir once more.

Place the entire casserole in a large skillet and heat the dish for 8-10 minutes on medium. Enjoy, and eat seconds! 🙂
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*Credit to He and She Eat Clean for this recipe!