Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Sage Bechamel

This is one of my brainstorm ideas. It defiantly needs some tweaking so maybe one of you can play around with it and find some solutions, but I think it has potential.

I attended a wedding last weekend that had these amazing butternut squash ravioli's and I tried to pick apart the filling to find the ingredients but I wasn't too far off.

You will need:
1/2 lb of Shells - approximately 20-15 shells.
Butternut Squash
Butter
Sage
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar
Flour
Milk or Heavy Cream
Nutmeg


Prepare Shells as indicated on the box

For the Filling you will need:
1 cup butternut squash- cubed
2 TBS butter
1 TSP sage
1 TSP cinnamon
1 TSP brown sugar
Salt & Pepper

Boil water and add squash. Boil for approximately 10-15 minutes until the squash is soft enough to mash. (note: its better to over boil these then under boil. my mixture came out a little grainy when mashing, i should have cooked them a little longer for a creamier texture)

Once they are tender, mash or process in food processor to blend smooth.
Should be the consistency of mashed potatoes.
Add butter, sage, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust any seasoning to your liking, i preferred a sweeter filling, others may like savory.

Fill the shells with approximately 1 tablespoon of filling. Line shells in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

For Bechamel Sauce:

In medium sauce pan heat 2 tablespoons of butter until melted. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to make a roue. Let the mixture cook while whisking it for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of warmed milk and whisk on low heat until the mixture becomes thick.
Add a pinch of nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of dried or chopped sage.
Continue to cook on low heat until the sauce is thick.
Top over stuffed shells and bake in the oven on 350 for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!