RR Rocks

I love watching Rachael Ray on TV. Her shows on the Food Network ("30-Minute Meals" and "$40 a Day") are the best and the few times I've caught her syndicated talk show were pretty good, too. For Christmas I was blessed with TWO of her cookbooks (thanks Mom, Dad, and Corey). That's well over 500 meal ideas to keep me busy in the kitchen. My first RR-inspired meal involved a butternut squash that I had been struggling to decide how to prepare. I ended up making a version of Isaboo's Butternut Squash Mac and Cheddar. One big plus was that I had most of the ingredients already in my house, just had to pick up some shredded cheddar cheese (which I normally keep on hand, too). I chose to use this as the main course and added a spinach salad topped with craisins and hand-shelled pecans (thanks Dad). I finished the meal off with some of my grandma's fruitcake...YUM-O!!!