When the end of summer and the beginning of fall meet, you might find yourself faced with produce that seems mismatched. The last of yellow squash might be coming in along with your pumpkins. But if you think outside the box, summer and fall ingredients can be interesting companions. I discovered a mixed-season trio of ingredients I love – – butternut squash, basil, and red bell peppers. And on pizza nonetheless.
This can be a quick and inexpensive meal if you have squirreled away some prepped ingredients in the freezer. If you are paying full-price (or buying the ingredients already prepared), and doing all the prep at once, it won’t be as quick and inexpensive.
I pulled a round of Light Wheat Pizza Dough from the freezer, along with some marinara sauce. As I was poking my head around in the freezer, I also found my roasted bell peppers I made this summer. Wow, do they freeze beautifully. I would normally use pesto made from my garden basil, but we moved, so I didn’t have that advantage. I freeze my pesto as well.
I had 50 pounds of butternut squash to eat down – – I got it for 26 cents a pound. With a hope and a prayer, I put this all together preparing myself the kids might hate it. I actually made a plain pizza just in case. But the kids both really liked it. The butternut squash is sweet and creamy, the pesto zesty, and the bell peppers smooth and fresh tasting. A fun little pizza.
Butternut Squash Pesto Pizza with Roasted Bell Peppers
Pizza Dough
Marinara
1 small butternut squash
salt
olive oil
Pesto
Roasted bell peppers (If you use roasted bell peppers in oil, wash and dry them off. The oil from the both the pesto and the peppers will make it greasy.)
Mozzarella cheese
Cornmeal
Directions: Pre-heat oven to 425. Peel and cube butternut squash. Coat squash with olive oil and salt after placing on baking sheet, and roast until soft and brown. Meanwhile, dust a pizza stone with cornmeal. Roll out pizza dough, and spread a thin layer of marinara on top. Next, spread a thin layer of pesto on top of the marinara. Place roasted butternut squash and roasted bell peppers on pizza, and cover with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.
Hi Nancy! No, it isn’t hand quilted. I don’t quilt, I just sew! But, I’m always a mess so I will for sure take your advice on avoiding a mess on the quilt. :)
Hey Laura… is that a quilt I see under your dish? :-) It looks HAND quilted too! Don’t spill any pizza sauce on it! :-)