Scrumptious Sunday

Welcome to Sunday, Scrumptious Sunday in fact! It's another new addition to my blog, highlighting a healing recipe I've been eating and possibly obsessing over in this past week.

You know what, I've been so happy to turn on my oven. This summer, plagued with high heat outside and low energy internally, oven cooking just didn't happen. I'm usually just a one pot gal....just cook it all together, serve it on up, and that's it.

But, as I've shifted my meals to enjoying more fruits and veggies and less meat, I've found more energy to try different preparation methods with my meals. I know roasting veggies bring out their natural sweetness and caramel flavor, so I wanted to give it a whirl. (It still ended up all together in one pot at the end though.....can't teach an old dog all new tricks now 😉)

I dubbed this "Autumn in a Bowl"--utilizing some of the bounty of fall thrown into a hearty, filling main dish.

One food I'm thankful to have fallen in love with is brussel sprouts. I used to turn up my nose every year to these little beauties, making fun of my mom for liking them and giving them to Ginger under the table. I think one of the reasons I disliked them was due to the preparation method. Boiling them makes for a yucky, mushy, pungent sprout. Once I attempted to sauté them in a skillet, and discovered their subtlety sweet/smoky/earthy/delicate flavor, I was in love 😍.

The other food I discovered I enjoyed was butternut squash. I used to be fairly picky about what veggies I'd eat (uh, does ketchup count?) in my younger days, but now I'm a bit more adventurous. I was afraid of peeling and deseeding them when I first started to learn to cook (felt too much like a carving pumpkin to me), so, I didn't. But as my skills have improved, from culinary classes, blog reading, and being sick with CFS, I made my first attempt. And I'm so glad I did!

The next bonus of this dish: it's totally customizable! You can add any veggie, meat, or bean you'd like...whatever you got in your fridge or pantry. Do you have cannellini beans instead of chickpeas? Great. Broccoli instead of Brussel sprouts? Good. Carrots instead of squash? Perfectly fine! You have lots of different combinations at your fingertips!

You can also customize to the season...make it a cold quinoa salad for summer time, or add broth and blend it all up to make a creamy, hearty soup. Or even add fruit! I added cranberry and walnut pieces in this week for a little change of pace. This is a versatile dish which is sure to please a lot of hearts in your household, including yours as the chef! So, without further ado...here's the recipe!

Roasted butternut squash with Brussel sprouts, chickpeas, and quinoa, aka "Autumn in a Bowl"


Butternut squash
1-2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into small pieces
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp herbs de Provence
1 tsp paprika
Salt
Black pepper
1-2 tbsp coconut oil


Preheat oven to 425F. Coat a baking sheet with tinfoil.
Peel, seed, and dice butternut squash. Sprinkle with cumin, herbs de Provence, paprika, salt, pepper, and coconut oil. Toss with fingers and spread out on baking sheet.
Put in oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning once 15 minutes in.


Brussel sprouts
I bag of Brussel sprouts, rinsed, chopped into pieces
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
Salt
Pepper
Rinse sprouts and chop into small pieces.
Put coconut oil in large frying pan and preheat over medium high heat.
Put sprouts in pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring frequently, until sprouts are golden brown and toasted.


Add in 3/4 cup chickpeas (I got mine from a can).


Quinoa
1 cup dried tri colored quinoa
2 cups water
Couple glugs apple cider vinegar


Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Add in vinegar. Lower heat to medium high once quinoa is boiling. Allow quinoa to cook until all water is absorbed and the little quinoa curly q's begin showing, about 15 minutes.


Remove squash from oven and dump in pot with sprouts and chickpeas. Stir and mix well. Once quinoa is finished cooking, add in to pot with sprouts, chickpeas, and squash. Mix well.

Optional additions:
Serve over salad greens and some diced avocado! You may not be able to see the salad greens in the pic, but they are there!

How have you used butternut squash in a recipe? Same thing for Brussel sprouts? I'd love to hear your take on them. Take care and happy cooking!!