Balsamic curry chicken with butternut squash macaroni and cheese

At first glance, this looks like a standard American meal. A meat, a starch, a creamy sauce and an absentminded "oops" on the veggies. However, once you learn that there aren't any yellow cheeses in that sauce, it starts to unravel.

Yep, there's cooked butternut squash purée in the sauce. Sneaky, huh?

And it tasted great.

If butternut squash is something you don't even think about outside of Thanksgiving, allow me to explain why it should be popping up in your cooking more often. This tasty, creamy, sweet veggie is a ninja among produce, able to work its way into cakes, sauces, soups and smoothies without issue. Not only that, it's a fantastic source of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, several B Vitamins and Potassium. There's also plenty of fiber in there, not to mention those carotenoids we've been on a kick with.

Shall we cook?

This will make two servings:

1 cup macaroni pasta (use whole wheat if you can)

1 Tbsp. sweet butter

1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 large chicken breast, pounded thin

12 oz. of frozen butternut squash purée (that's one package, usually. It'll be with the rest of the frozen veggies)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 medium shallot (also minced)

1 to 2 splashes of 2% milk

0.2 lbs. young asiago cheese

0.2 lbs. fontina cheese (Fun Fact: Bobby Flay has called fontina "the perfect cheese", and I completely understand why)

1/4 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 and a 1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

To taste sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, smoked paprika (I like this stuff in the sauce), marjoram, whatever you'd like. I had an extra slice of havarti left from the burgers last night, so I tossed that in there.

First thing's first, get some water on to boil for the pasta (don't forget to salt it).

Melt the butter in a sauce pot and whisk in the flour. Cook your roux for a minute, then add your minced onion and garlic. Cook for another minute of two, then add your milk, whisking to break up lumps. Take it easy on the milk, you're just making a little something to melt that squash into, it'll make up the majority of the sauce's body.

Speaking of which, when that's nice and hot, add the squash. If you thawed it first, great, if not, it'll melt into the sauce in a matter of minutes. Add your nutmeg and whatever else you'd like (omit salt until the end). Let that simmer for a little while.

After you pound out that chicken, rub the balsamic on each side, coating it evenly. Put half the curry powder on one side, half on the other, season each side with salt, pepper and whatever else you like on your chicken. It'll need to cook in a medium heat skillet for about 4 minutes per side, less or more depending on the thickness. Don't overcook it.

You should cook your pasta while the chicken's searing, as well as gradually melt your cheese into the sauce. Everything should be done at about the same time.

Plate and serve! Prepare for looks of surprise and delight.

Tomorrow, I'm making a ceviche. Ever had it? Me neither! Hope it doesn't suck! Do come back.