Sometimes it is a good thing to change things up every once in awhile. Walking a different route to the way to subway brings me new windows to peer into. Tying my scarf a new way keeps my neck a bit warmer from the biting cold. And making a favorite dish with a hearty sauce could be revolutionary. Yes, I will give anything a shot once, maybe even twice if I’m feeling daring.

So was the case with this butternut squash lasagna. It had so many of my favorites contained in that shallow casserole pan– sheets of fresh pasta, satisfying butternut squash puree, bulbs of fresh mozzarella and salty ricotta cheese. Sounds great. Smelled even better as it was baking to a bubbly finish. I loved the layers of lasagna, the pasta hiding a new treat of disclosed, melted cheese. There is something so impressive about pulling out a tray of golden brown, crisp-crusted lasagna from the oven.

This dish had all of those elements. It was belly-warming, homey, and pleasing. But I found it only made my mind wander longingly to the familiar red sauce– the bite of tomato sauce mingling with the soothing, unctuous taste of the mozzarella, puddles of delicate bechamel sauce, flecks of meat, turning the sauce from marinara to Bolognese. That is what I needed.

Who knows if this lasagna really just got a bad rap because I was in a carnivorous mood? I guess I will have to try it out again to truly see the results. The only thing I do know, is I have a mean craving for the traditional after trying something new. Maybe some things should not be messed with.