So this isn’t the first time I came up with something new….the first time that happened was Mowgyver’s Chicken Alfredo, and that was YEARS ago….but the circumstances of that happened because I started cooking a recipe I didn’t have the ingredients for, so I had to switch up in the middle. (so I switched it to a 2nd recipe, that I also didn’t have the ingredients for….so both times I was adding ingredients and had to do something with what I had already started.)

Although that was, for me, monumental (and it still is a little, because the panic around that was engulfing, so I respect that moment as a learning tool and an indicator that I was going to be okay) it wasn’t done without guidance. I started with one recipe and followed the instructions, realized I didn’t have everything and switched to a second, following the instructions until I realized I was missing something else. Craig’s brother Thomas said, “Look at you! You’re like Magyver in the kitchen!” and the name stuck. Ever since then when we make it, it’s been Mowgyver’s Alfredo, and that’s all well and good.

But this thing….it doesn’t have a name yet. And the reason it is momentous is that I PLANNED THIS. I had made something in the Instant pot with Spinach, and discovered I liked fresh wilted spinach. I wanted to expand to Kale, and I followed a recipe that gave me Kale sauteed with garlic. I was amazed at how different it was, how the texture was actually velvety, and I wanted to do more with it. So I did some research.

I was sure, for some reason, that I could mix it with butternut squash, and craisins, and sausage, and garlic…and maybe cinnamon and nutmeg. I went to The Flavor Bible, and the flavor profiles matched up….I was sure I could do it. And I made it up.

I didn’t want to tell it to anyone until I made it again and could actually have a recipe to post. I still don’t know what to call it. I needed to know that this nomminess wasn’t a fluke, that I could duplicate it.

I can and I have. So now I’m sharing it with you, because Erica said she liked my recipe adventures, and because Tracy deserves the credit for every kitchen success I have, as does Laurel (and a little bit of Joy, because she let me help her cook sausage and peppers in her kitchen, even if I got weepy about it.) And for Heather, because if I can do it, you can do it, and Tee, because if I didn’t tell you it just wouldn’t be right. And my niece and nephew, Liz and Michael because they’ll be proud of me.

1 giant bag of kale
1 lb of sausage meat (no casing)
LOTS of garlic. I used, like, 14 cloves, no joke, sliced.
2 pkgs of cubed butternut squash
1/2 or 1/3 a bag of craisins
1 handful of pistachios (but pine nuts would probably be better)
16 oz of sliced mushrooms
Nutmeg
Apple Pie Spice (I only used this because I couldn’t find the cinnamon, but it was perfect. I’ll put a link in the comments.)

– start sauteeing the garlic with the mushrooms
– add the sausage
– when the sausage is half cooked, add the squash
– Keep going until the sausage is cooked.
– throw in some craisins
– Add the kale on top, as much as you can fit in the pan, even if it’s a big mound that could fall over. Pour in some chicken broth…enough to cover the bottom of your pan for about a quarter inch or so. cover the whole thing tightly and come back in about 7-10 minutes.
– stir and flip things. The kale should be shrinking down and that makes it easier to flip.
– cover the whole thing with a tilted lid. Add more broth if you need it, but you probably won’t. The tilted lid lets the liquid evaporate a little.
– Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. Or if you have it, use Penzey’s Apple Pie spice.

Oh…and a dash of Rose’s Lime Juice, but only if you need it to brighten it up. Chances are, you won’t.

The whole thing has a bit of a Thanksgiving vibe to it, honestly. Really nommy.

And I made it up all by myself.

If you come up with a name for it, let me know.  (edit – The name a thing gets is the name  that sticks.  My husband has given the unfortunate name that stuck for this recipe…he calls it “Kitty’s Butt Squash.”  …I’m in pain from it, I swear.)