Lets kick the weekend off right, with a nice warm and hardy salad. Not a frilly little salad, but a salad that fills you up and leaves you feeling warm and cozy. A salad with a lot of squash!
So here's the thing, I eat a lot of winter squash, maybe 4 plus a week. Because I eat so many, I store a good amount in a cold storage area outside of the little warm living space we call home. Last week we had a drastic temperature change and a good few of the my butternut and spaghetti squash froze.. then started to de-thaw. Not good. That was the second bad food experience of the day….. Earlier that day I had bought about 2 dozen super ripe bananas that I had been planing on freezing and what not. There were four bunches and each bunch was wrapped in plastic and were in a bag that I left near the back door. The thought crossed my mind, but I hastily brushed it away. Washer won't eat those….. Well guess what? The shit ate half of my freaking bananas…plastic and all. Needless to say, I was kind of pissed already so finding my squash on the way out really set me off. I was not about to let more food go to waste.(or be eaten by the dog) I went into rescue mode..Chop chop and dice…boil, roast and steam…and eat eat eat…. and eat. I have been eating butternut for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past week and that's ok with me cause man it does taste oh so tasty. But for some people in my life, eating mashed squash out of a jar all day long does not hold the same appeal so I have been sneaking it in where ere I can.
So some of that diced squash tuned into this lovely warm salad. Even the mister liked it and he is not a fan of warm salads(he says he is not, but I think he actually is, as long as I don't call them "salads") Any who…This salad hits all the marks…. Fantastically filling, super delicious, fast and healthy. Check, check, and check! I am so good.
Easy peasy….
Diced butternut squash, half a vilalia onion, prepared lentils and a bunch of kale… Nothin else.(salt and pepper, but they don't count)
Diced butternut and a mediumly sliced onion..(mediumly is a new cooking term) Spritz a bit of oil in a pan and toss the squash and onion in there and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Shove into the hot oven and roast until squash and onion are tender and tasty.
Remove the pan from the oven and toss in finely chopped kale and a big scoop of lentil… Mix it up and let the sit in hot pan for a few minutes…it will make the kale get soft and warm.
Plate it and eat eat… I drizzled a little balsamic vinegar on mine…Nick like his straight up. Do what you will cause either way, it's going to be awesome!!!!
Hooray for Friday and for winter squash!!!!
-C
Warm Winter Salad
Ingredients (This made one good sized salad…and exact measurements were not used so feel free to add greater or lesser amounts of any of the ingredients)
- 1 1/2 cup Diced Butternut squash
- 1/2 Vidalia Onion(or any variety you like)
- 3-4 large Kale leaves
- 1/2 cup Precooked Lentils
- salt and pepper to taste
- Balsamic Vinegar
- drizzle of oil for pan
In a 425 degree oven, place diced squash and sliced onions in a slightly oiled pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for about 20 minutes until tender. Remove pan from oven and toss in chopped kale and lentils and let sit in hot pan for a few minutes… Plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.