Monday Meals: Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Hash

Colder weather is creeping in, and it's harder to find "fresh" produce from the farm stand, right? 

Wrong.

While you're not likely to find fresh tomatoes or sweet corn, there's still a ton of winter produce available. At the Winter Farmer's Market in Milwaukee you can find potatoes, brussel sprouts, onions, squash, sweet potatoes and beets- among other tasty finds. The Wisconsin Test Kitchen spent a dreary Saturday morning there; and left with three full bags of produce- which included a sack of sweet potatoes and a few butternut squash.

We found a hash recipe last year, and after a few modifications (mainly the addition of bacon!) it's one of the easiest recipes to throw together on a busy weeknight. 

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Hash

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 lb. bacon, roughly chopped
pumpkin pie seasoning
seasoning salt
eggs

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine squash, sweet potatoes and bacon in a bowl, stirring well to combine. 

Pour onto a cookie sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray (don't over-do it, the bacon will provide plenty of grease and prevent the veggies from sticking to the cookie sheet). 
Lightly sprinkle pumpkin pie seasoning and seasoning salt over the vegetable/bacon mixture before baking for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove from oven and give the veggie/bacon mixture a flip over/toss/whatever you want to call it (this helps the veggies to cook evenly and prevents them from sticking to the pan). Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, make sure vegetables are tender before serving. 
This hash is delicious and hearty by itself, but we really enjoy it with a soft, egg on top. 

Even the smallest member of our Test Kitchen endorsed this meal, she couldn't wait to eat it. 

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen has always been big on supporting local farms and eating as locally and sustainable as possible; every ingredient we used in this meal was locally sourced- the bacon was from a whole butchered hog we received for Christmas, and even the eggs pictured above are from a local farm that delivers to us every week. We highly recommend a visit to the Winter Farmers Market: http://www.mcwfm.org/
Bring the kids along- you get free admission to The Domes! 

We look forward to sharing more hearty, fall and winter dishes with you soon!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew