Bacon and Butternut Squash Pasta

Last night after a three hour, rainy, cold bus ride home from the city, I wanted something gooey and delicious to help turn my night around. I'm playing the "save my calories for Thanksgiving" game, so I didn't want something that would be too filling or fattening. I found this recipe for Bacon and Butternut Squash Pasta in Cooking Light last year and decided to try it.Even though I had never worked with butternut squash before and had to teach myself how to properly break it down, this recipe was stellar and on the plate within half an hour. The blue cheese wasn't overpowering and the salty bacon balanced it well. For JUST under 400 calories, this worked wonders.

Ingredients: 

3 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided  
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine  (You can use less, I will next time)
2 bacon slices  (you can use more- haha!)
2 tablespoons butter  
3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash  
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese  
1/2 cup sliced green onions

Directions:  

Bring 3 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add pasta; cook for 8 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, and reserve 1/3 cup cooking liquid.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add butter to drippings in pan; cook 30 seconds or until butter melts. Increase heat to medium-high. Add squash; sauté 7 minutes or until almost tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, pasta, reserved cooking liquid, and cheese; cook 2 minutes or until pasta is al dente, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with bacon and onions.

One note: Be sure to put some oil from the bacon drippings on the pasta so that it doesn't congeal into a lumpy mess. I made this mistake on my first plate!