Butternut Squash with Multi-grain Orzo

So, I am shopping at the grocery store looking for something new to make my family (I love introducing new foods)  So, I drive my cart by the produce isle, looking, and I see a butternut squash. I think for a sec, have I really not made butternut squash for my family? Nope, sure haven't.

The hubs (and sometimes the kids) and I have been doing the "Insanity" workout for about three weeks now. We have finally gotten to where we are doing it earlier in the day, (opposed to late at night before bed, after dinner...yeah, not the best idea, but hey we were dedicated!) One of the hardest parts of this program is they want you to eat like 5-6 times a day (small meals) to help your metabolism (which seemed non-existent for me for so long!) Funny enough, I forget to eat half the time or am so busy, it has been a task figuring it in my schedule to "eat".

So, we got done with our workout yesterday, the fam took off to softball practice, and I grabbed the butternut squash  I bought the other day and got to work. See, for me at least, once I work out that hard, I just want something light to eat. I have made sauteed butternut squash before, but wasn't sure how my family would respond to it. They are open to trying new things, as since they were little my rule was they always had to try something, if they didn't like it, they didn't have to eat it, BUT you never knew unless you tried it!

Sauteed Butternut Squash with Multi-grain Orzo

One large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
Olive oil (maybe about 2 TBSP)
Thyme (about 1/2 TBSP)
Rosemary (about 1/2 TBSP)
Minced Garlic ( 2+ TBSP)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Hormel Real bacon pieces (totally add to your own taste!)


Pour olive oil in saute pan with cubes of squash, and toss to coat. Cook over med-high heat and add spices/herbs, stirring occasionally until tender. If you choose to include, add bacon pieces the last 5 minutes. The squash was our main dish so I decided to add a little of the bacon pieces to kick it up a little. I love keeping the bacon pieces on hand, they have 50% less fat than regular bacon, and are super easy to throw into a dish if you need to kick it up a notch.

OK, I promise I will try to get better with my recipes, but this is hard, most of the time when cooking I don't measure. (not like with baking, that's usually very precise) It's all about throwing different spices and herbs together, tasting, adding more, tasting again, and adding whatever else is necessary for your flavor palate.
So above is what I put in this dish, just not 100% sure on the exact amounts, so I estimated, but again, just make it to your taste.

To make the meal complete I made Orzo, which is a variety of pasta shaped like grains of barley or rice and paired that with some brussel sprouts, and voila! I will say, my kids liked it too!