Pretty in Pink

I made one of my favorite pasta dishes today for my mother who just returned home from the hospital. I'm trying to help her get her appetite and strength back by cooking her yummy, nutritious foods. With my garlic seasonings in tow, I prepared "Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic"* topped with fresh parmesan cheese yesterday and then today I made her a roasted butternut squash and kale pasta dish. I did something different this time: I added a couple chopped beets and it turned everything a pale pink -- beautiful and nutritious! I used to not like beets, but I found that they are very good roasted with some olive oil and my garlic seasoning. So, for the record, when I write my cookbook, here's the title of this new recipe... this one's for you, mom!

Pretty in Pink
1 2-3 pound butternut squash, washed (not peeled), seeded, chopped into 1-inch cubes
2 med-large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
1 large or 2 medium beets, chopped
1 bunch kale, remove stems then chop the leaves**
1/2 to 1 package turkey bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (or real bacon if you want)
3-5 cloves garlic, leave skins on to roast (remember the number of cloves)
a few tablespoons olive oil
a few teaspoons Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
1 - 1 1/2 lb "sturdy" pasta, such as corkscrew or rigatoni
a few teaspoons olive oil
a few shakes Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
8 oz feta cheese (reduced-fat works well)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large roasting dish or casserole dish, combine all ingredients except the last four. Stir well to coat veggies and bacon with the oil and seasoning. Roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, until beets and squash are tender with a fork, stirring about every 20 minutes.

About 20 minutes into roasting, start a pot of boiling water for the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente -- cook for 1 - 2 minutes less than what's called for.

Drain, but do not rinse, pasta when done. Put pasta back into pot, drizzle a few teaspoons of olive oil and a few shakes of seasoning onto pasta, then gently stir.

When the roasting is complete, pull out all of the garlic cloves to let cool a little -- when able to touch, squeeze out the roasted garlic pulp into veggie mixture and stir.

Toss the veggies, bacon and pasta together. Top with feta cheese and serve. OMG -- you'll taste why this is one of my favorite pasta dishes!

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*I followed a basic mashed potato recipe, but steamed 2 chopped cauliflower heads instead of potatoes. I heated 1 cup milk with 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning, combined with some Smart Balance, then whipped into cauliflower. Top with cheese, serve.
**The easiest way to destem kale is to fold the leaf in half at the stem, then trim off the stem with a knife. Here's a picture that I borrowed from another blog of a stem that has been removed from a kale leaf: