Just because I’ve declared I’m done whipping up new recipes with pumpkin for the season doesn’t mean I’m over orange foods all together. Nope. For some reason squash and sweet potatoes don’t stay relegated to the months of September, October, and November. It’s weird and I can’t explain it. But pumpkin is just so special to me that I never want it to lose its appeal.
It’s funny, though. Orange foods are most definitely my favorite foods (think about it: pumpkin, sweet potatoes, squash, mangos, and CHEESE. OK, and oranges, peaches, and creamsicles. And CHEESE). But apart from food, I’m not such an orange person. In fact, today I realized I can practically count the orange around my apartment. My closet is fully void of orange (I’m fairly certain I don’t look good in orange, though I haven’t attempted rocking it in quite some time).
I do always have an orange candle or two burning somewhere in the apartment (mainly because they smell like orange foods):
And I’m almost always dipping all sort of food into this Stonewall Kitchen Maple Pumpkin Butter (mainly because it’s made with orange food):
Oh, and you can find me leafing through this quite often. Uhhh, now I feel like a dork:
Fun fact. I actually read the complete Chicago Manual of Style for a copyediting class in grad school. The whole thing. (please don’t judge my grammar now!).
And that’s basically all the orange there is.
Anyway. I love a good butternut squash risotto and when I needed a quick meal the other night, I decided to try out my take on this butternut squash orzo recipe. If you’re scared of risotto, this orzo might be a safer place to start. But really, you have absolutely NO reason to be scared of risotto because it’s fun and easy and I don’t get what the hype is all about. But you can make this, too.
Butternut Squash Orzo (Serves 2):
• 1/2 butternut squash
• 3 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 C- 3/4 C chicken broth
• 1 C orzo, fully cooked
• 4 strips bacon, fully cooked
• 1/3 parmesan cheese, grated
Isn’t this squash seriously the cutest? Hehe.
Half the squash with a sharp knife:
And then clean the seeds and membrane out. Put the squash, onion, and garlic on a foil-covered cookie sheet. I peeled my onion and garlic and left them whole.
Brush everything with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. And pop in the oven at 425 for about 45 minutes, until veggies are tender. You’ll want to keep checking though as your onion and garlic may be ready before your squash.
While the veggies are in the oven, you should cook your delicious bacon.
Make sure it’s nice and crispy!
You should cook your orzo, too.
How delicious does the squash look? You should let it cool a little bit and then it should fall right from the skin.
The onion and garlic will smell absolutely amazing!
Add all the veggies to the food processor with about 1/2 C of the chicken broth.
You can add more chicken broth if you want to thin it out a little bit.
Mix the squash sauce with the orzo. Crumble up the bacon and mix that in, too.
And serve with some parmesan on top!
This was most definitely comfort food to a T. Creamy, but without a drop of cream added. Now, isn’t that music to your ears? If you know someone who claims not to like butternut squash, make this for them. They’ll change their mind really quickly (and if not, they’re totally lying. Tell them to stop being stubborn).
I mean, there’s bacon in this. And bacon is just one little trick to getting people to eat foods they don’t think they like. But you don’t even need to use tricks for this one. You could actually leave the bacon out and it would still be awesome. But don’t because it does add a very nice salty crunchy touch.
I’ll say it again, I don’t think risotto is hard to make at all, but this butternut squash orzo is a lot less high-maintenance. No adding chicken broth and stirring and waiting. And this almost just as creamy and flavorful. Try it! Maybe even as a last-minute Thanksgiving side dish?
After our chat about seasonal flavors the other day, I discovered a new one. Pears!! I mean, I’ve always loved pears, but seriously need to add them to my fall/winter flavor rotation. Tonight I finally tried Dannon’s Light & Fit Orchard Pear and it was seriously to die for. Not only did it taste exactly like pear, but it had little chunks of pear in it. This will most definitely be my yogurt of the season!
I hope you all have wonderful Thanksgivings tomorrow! I’m so thankful that we have such awesome readers. And that there are so many fabulous blogs out there for me to read. I always feel like there are about a million other people with the same passions as me. And that feels so nice 
Thank you!
What food are you most excited for tomorrow?
[Sues]
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after making a risotto with bacon + butternut squash, I think they’re meant to be together. Delicious!
Orange really does offer some great foods!! I have a few orange accents around my apt like dark orange pillows and a bright orange buddha. I even have an orange dress. I guess you could say I’m obsessed with the color all together!
This dish looks wonderful and so easy to make!
Mmmmm… that looks so delicious! I can’t believe how simple it looks too! I’m looking forward to the best part of tomorrow – the dessert!
I’d have to agree that orange foods are pretty delish…especially cheese!
Love me some orange foods too. I keep hoping they’ll give me a golden tan, but so far, not so much. But still, they’re super good for you and oh so tasty.
I’m looking forward to stuffing the most. I make a mean ciabatta and sausage stuffing, which I’ll be posting tomorrow.
Laura
for some reason i never cook with orzo, but this recipe looks so good! i need to find that yogurt…
OOO I am writing this down right now!! Looks delicious!
Orange foods are totally delicious. And where would we be without cheese
I’ve made a butternut squash risotto before and LOVED it. Your version looks fabulous too. Happy Thanksgiving to you! I’m most looking forward to my Mom’s cranberry sauce
I have a butternut squash in my kitchen looking for a home and I think it found it! I love the fact that you don’t have to peel it first (which is a huge pain! I’m making this tonight to go with my maple glazed pork chops.
Squash AND bacon? You are clearly after my heart. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Sues and Chels!
This looks amazing! Squash, bacon, and orzo = wow!
“Fun fact. I actually read the complete Chicago Manual of Style for a copyediting class in grad school. The whole thing. ” Me too!! I love that book. Loved the class too.
You are speaking my language! Orange things and cheese? Yes, please! Mmmm…I bet the butternut squash orzo plus bacon is very yummy. I wish my squash had that funny sticker! Love it. Have a great Thanksgiving!!
Looks awesome! I too love orange foods (especially cheese), but I don’t care for oranges that much. Is that weird? I eat them/drink their juice, but I don’t ever crave it. Oh well.
wow, look at those ingredients in the orzo dish – looks very professional and perfect for the season! Happy Thanksgiving!
orange food is my favorite. bacon too!
This looks delicious! And pears are definitely a great fall fruit. You know, pears and CHEESE go great together, so that ought to make you happy
I hope you and Chris have a great Thanksgiving with your family!
I love making orzotto in place of risotto, mainly because orzo is so much cheaper than arborio rice! And it’s so easy. Seriously. You totally amped this orzotto up with the squash and the bacon! Gorgeous dish. I’m all about orange foods but not so much about orange clothing as well. It does NOT go well with my complexion. At all.
Hope you had a great thanksgiving!
I am definitely not an orange person, either. I don’t think I own one article of orange clothing! I am obsessed with orange food, though.
Your risotto looks delish. And I do think the bacon adds a nice touch. 
I agree with you about orange foods.
Well you sure do orange well! This looks incredible, and I love, love, love orzo!
I am so glad I saw this blog today! We had 1 leftover squash, as for some reason I thought buying 3 was going to be necessary for t-day, and I had no idea what I was going to do with it. But I think this may be dinner tonight! yea!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I love orange foods too, and luckily so many orange fruits and veggies are so good for us! Those Cheetos I get addicted to, maybe not