Happy Halloween!

I realize that everyone will be ordering Pizza tonight and feasting on chocolate peanut butter cups and twix bars. Oh wait- that might just be me… But if you are motivated to make a healthy and tasty kid friendly dinner- consider this Butternut Squash Tortilla Pie!

I just sort of made this name up. Oh, and made the recipe up. In fact the whole recipe seemed like such nonsense that when Pete came home and asked about dinner, he kind of squished his face up and made a sad/disappointed/confused look.

So judgmental, no? Just because I am trying to encourage the consumption of vegetables…

It tastes great. Of course, I didn’t realize that it sounded bad when I called it Butternut Squash Tortilla Pie? I looked in the fridge one night last week and had butternut squash puree, cheese and tortillas. I always have black beans. I happened to have some crispy bacon. So there you go. I layered them all up in a very deep pie dish, and this delicious and hearty concoction is what you get! Crispy on top and inside, there are alternating layers of cheese, squash and black beans. I love mine topped with guacamole, sour cream and plenty of spicy salsa!

Try washing it down with a little slug juice….

To make this Tortilla Pie:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray the inside of a deep dish 9” round pie/baking dish with cooking spray

In a medium sauté pan, add the olive oil and onion and cook over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the black beans and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Then add the bacon and stir to combine before removing from the heat.

Push a tortilla into the bottom of the pan. Add ½ of the squash and spread it over the tortilla. Then sprinkle it with cheddar cheese.

Next add another tortilla and spread it with half of the black beans and then sprinkle that with cheddar cheese.

Repeat that process until you have used the rest of the squash puree and the black beans and all of the cheddar cheese (except for ½ cup reserved). Place a tortilla on top and sprinkle with the last ½ cup of reserved cheddar cheese. Bake the tortilla pie for 25 minutes until the tortilla pie is hot and bubbly and the topping is golden and melted.

Let cool slightly before slicing,

Serving with guacamole, sour cream and salsa.