Quinoa, Butternut Squash, and Brussel Sprout Salad

We are big big fans of roasted veggies and pretty much make them every night. Jamie has never been a vegetable fan and didn’t eat veggies until about a year ago when I started this journey. He’s always been very hesitant, but when he realized that you can eat veggies and they actually taste good, our life changed for the better.

Lately we’ve been loving Quinoa and I’ve made some yummy salads. The other night I decided to try to make up a new one that didn’t have lots of dressing and only used a few ingredients. This was SOOO easy and so very yummy.

Now, I do have to apologize, because I’m not one to measure things out, so I will give you a general idea of what to do, but you are going to have to season it to your own taste!! Deal?? Ok, great!

Start off with Butternut Squash.

I’m a minimalist and and need things to be fast. When I first started using butternut squash I actually used one that I had to cut up and peel. It took forever and I swore I would never do it again. So, when I saw this 2 lb box of already cut up butternut squash at Costco I grabbed it and did a happy dance.

We used the entire 2 lb box, so if you are cutting it up on your own, good luck and have fun!:)

1. Take your squash and put it into a bowl.
2. Grab some avocado oil and drizzle onto the squash. Again, if you are a measuring type, grab out some measuring spoons and go for it. I just make sure that everything is coated with a drizzle (don’t go crazy and do way too much)
3. Season with Sea Salt, Garlic, and Pepper

Parchment Paper

Parchment paper is your best friend when roasting veggies, so grab a bunch and keep it in the pantry. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out the veggies.

Brussel Sprouts

Again, I need things to be fast. We use the Shaved Brussel Sprouts at Trader Joes. They are inexpensive and already done for you. Just dump the bag into a bowl and do the same thing that we did with the Butternut Squash. Simple, easy.

Bake at 400 for 35-45 minutes

We like our veggies to be crispy, so we usually start everything at 40 minutes and then add from there. In this instance the brussel sprouts were down around 40 minutes and the Butternut Squash took about 50-55 minutes.

 

Quinoa

I’m in love with this organic red Quinoa at Trader Joes. It cooks soft and perfect every time. It’s moist and has a great flavor. I followed the directions on the back of the bag. I believe it was one cup of Quinoa.

 

 

Raw Almonds

I wanted a little crunch to the salad, so I took about 1 cup of raw almonds and put them into my dry container Vitamix. I chopped it up to slivers and then set them aside.

 

Cook veggies until they are crispy to your liking

Our daughter calls these scorpions because we cook them so crispy and they look like we are eating dried scorpions. Here in Arizona we have a scorpion problem, so we get a laugh out of this… please don’t let this scare you though, because they are super yummy and my daughter will even eat them!

 

 

Put it all together

Get a pretty bowl and start adding it all together. I started with the Quinoa, added the brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and nuts. Mix them all together.

You don’t need any sauce because the Quinoa should be super moist (if cooked right), and the veggies should have great flavor from the avocado oil and the seasonings.

I’ve eaten this all week and actually just put some of it on my pizza that I made tonight….It wasn’t too bad!

ENJOY

The first night we ate this warm, but after that we just ate it as a cold salad and it was great every single time. It makes a pretty good batch, so you can meal prep this on Sunday and eat it all week.

Hopefully you enjoy it as much as we did. Leave a comment below and tell us what you thought!!