One-Pot Curried Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

This recipe from Oh My Veggies caught my attention.  This curry was perfect for a chilly day like it was today - warm and very filling!

A few notes:

• I didn't use frozen butternut squash.  I peeled, chopped into bite sized chunks, then baked the squash in the oven on a lightly 'olive-oiled' baking sheet for about 25 minutes at 400F
• I also didn't use frozen peppers.  I chopped about 3/4 of each a yellow and red bell pepper
• I think cilantro would also have tasted nicely as a garnish instead of parsley

Zucchini Fettuccine with Rosemary Butternut Creme Sauce

I've tried a few different versions of pasta sauce using butternut squash and I think this one is my favourite so far (Thanks to Nancy for directing me to it!). This recipe is from In Sonnet's Kitchen.

I have made this dish twice now and it is great!

A few notes:

• This dish is rather time consuming to make - preparing the noodles and scooping out the butternut squash in particular!
• I didn't have a spiralizer to make the beautiful fettuccine noodles as shown by the author so I used a julienne peeler instead to make "spaghetti" noodles.
• After I prepared the zucchini noodles, I put them in a large bowl and tossed with salt. Before adding them to the pan with the mushrooms, I drained the water.
• I used a blend of shitake, white and crimini mushrooms, probably between 3 to 4 cups when sliced.
• The first time I made this, I used oregano and basil instead of rosemary. The second time I used rosemary but less than 2 tsp.  Not sure which spices I liked better!
• Instead of broth I used water in the sauce.
• I had leftover butternut squash sauce both times for the amount of noodles and mushrooms I made. The leftover sauce worked nicely as a sauce for baked chicken breast later on in the week.

Kale and Butternut Squash Salad

Here is a new salad I tried.  I was inspired by some super juicy dried apricots I bought and decided that they needed to go in a salad.

Kale and Butternut Squash Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 4 dried apricots, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 avocado, chopped
• 4 cups baby kale
• 1 tbsp chia seeds, optional

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp oil (or olive oil)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F. Peel and core butternut squash.  Cut into bite size cubes. Place squash in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread squash on baking sheet and bake for 35 min or until squash is tender.

2) Toast almonds in pan on medium heat until golden brown. No oil or butter necessary.  Just remember to stir occasionally or else the almonds will burn!

3) Combine ingredients for dressing and whisk.

4) Prepare rest of salad ingredients.

5) In a large bowl, lightly toss kale, apricots, green onion and avocado.  Drizzle dressing on salad a little bit at a time, toss to incorporate.  Divide salad onto plates.  Top with "just out of the oven" butternut squash and almonds (optional: chia seeds).

Serving size: 2-4

Butternut Squash Pasta

Recipe from two peas & their pod.

Some notes:

-I didn't have fresh sage

-I threw in some arugula for picture taking purposes!

I really liked this pasta and I will definitely be making it again. Not too time consuming either. I will try it with the sage next time.