It's Dave

Two weeks ago while weeding the front landscaping, I found a monarch caterpillar.  Being the eight year old that I am, I decided to keep it and put it in a jar.

 I named him Dave.  Super creative. 

I even went to the park to pick some milkweed leaves to feed him.

*Such* a responsible caterpillar owner.

But then after 2 days of eating leaves and pooping an astounding five times his body weight, he cocooned himself.

And now I wait 8-12 days for him to emerge. 

Innnnnnn the meantime, I created a new favorite dinner + side dish.  Both are pretty easy.  You know that's how I roll.

The basics: a package of cheese tortellini, a bag of butternut squash (you could go the fresh route- about 2 cups worth), and a container of baby portobellas.  Not pictured: 2-3 sage leaves, and a chunk of fontina cheese- enough to give you 3/4 cup shredded.

For the side dish I cooked up some of the green beans from my garden, flavored with lemon juice, shallots, and garlic.

Back to the entree.  Microwave your squash and chop up your mushrooms.  I am not a mushroom person at all, but if they're in small enough pieces, I don't mind.  Toss both with the sage (tear it into small pieces), 2 teaspoons olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Spread out on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until mushrooms are browned and softened.  Stir it once or twice while it's cooking.

Before

 After.

While that's in the oven, cook up your tortellini according to the package directions.  Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before you drain it.  You'll probably only need 1/2 cup, but better be on the conservative side.

Combine pasta with roasted squash & mushrooms, stir in shredded fontina and enough pasta water to create a "sauce."

And for your green beans, of which I had about 30
Snip the tips and ends before boiling.  Boil until they're softened a bit but still have a slight crunch.  Place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  Heat up 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pan and add chopped shallot.  Saute until shallot is softened.  Add green beans, 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic and 2 teaspoons lemon juice.

Dee-lish.

 My portions are a little off here- the green bean recipe yielded 3 servings and the pasta entree yielded 4 servings.  Oh well. 

Squash tortellini: 450 calories
Green beans: 80 calories