Tasty Tuesday: Roasted Butternut Squash and Pepita Salad

I actually crave this salad daily.

Like woah, the flavor combination is the best.

It's probably tied with the strawberry beet salad (I'll post that one soon!) but even Oaklyn likes this one!

Butternut squash has such a yummy flavor. It's kind of sweet unlike zucchini squash or yellow squash. 

When it's roasted it has a little bit of a crisp outside and a bit of salt just makes it so flavorful.

We eat butternut squash as is, in soup, as a side, but it's my favorite in a salad. 

I love adding a bit of warmth to a salad, and a different texture. 

Paired with feta, pepitas, and apples... you guys it is SO good!

Ingredients:

- 1 butternut squash (or cheat and get the already cut up butternut squash at costco! It's the best!)

-1/4 cup roasted pepitas

-1 package crumbled feta

-1 apple of your choice (I loveee pink lady)

-Favorite Balsamic vinaigrette

-1 Roma Tomato

- Washed and dried arugula (or another leafy green you like but I love the flavor of arugula)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you bought an entire butternut squash you'll want to cut and peel. If you bought precut, you're saving yourself some time! Make sure your squash is in bite sized cubes. Toss it with 1 tbs olive oil or other oil you have on hand. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and add cubed squash. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the top to your liking. Bake for 30-40 min or until squash is fork tender and golden on the outside. 

2) While your squash is baking you can start to prepare the rest of your salad. You'll need to dice your apple into smaller than bite sized cubes. I use about 1/2 of the apple. Dice your tomato. wash and dry your arugula. 

3) Once your squash is ready and cooled down to a warm temperature, assemble your salad. I like to add the arugula first, then the squash, then tomato, then apples, next pepitas, and finally feta. I let each person add dressing to their liking. 

I love pairing this salad with some grilled chicken and Hunter loves it with some warm crusty bread. It would also be really good with some yummy tomato soup! No matter what you pair it with, this salad is sure to please!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy 

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Tasty Tuesday: Balsamic Steak Salad

I never say "can't even" but... if there was the perfect time to say it, it would be right now haha.

In a matter of 48 hours we've dealt with replacing 3 tires, a cranky toddler, a flood in our home (and on the carpet, ugh), a plumber that came like 4 hours late, a lost debit card, an even crankier toddler,  a found debit card because the Sonic lady forgot to give it back to me, and a sassy Sonic employee that thought it was my fault... HA!

Guys, I'm so ready for this week to be over already!

And, it just started.

My saint of a husband however, knew I was a little more than frustrated over the whole ordeal, and brought home pizza and I thought I was gonna cry it made me so happy haha!

#pregnancyhormones

Alright, I feel a little better now that I ranted about my life ha...

On to the real reason why you came to this post!

I don't really like my bread dipped in balsamic... but when it comes to asparagus and salads, I want all the balsamic!

So, I made this little Balsamic steak salad based off cravings and Hunter literally had 5 bowls of it!

He's not exactly a "salad for dinner" kind of guy, but this one has steak so he was okay with it ;)

Ingredients:

-Steak of any variety. (I used whatever was on sale but you can either go for the good stuff or stick with the cheap stuff. Whatever floats your boat. I also made a ton because I knew Hunter would want lots of meat, so make however much fits your family's needs/wants!)

-Bell peppers. (I got the mini ones and cut up about 5)

-1 package of sliced mushrooms

-1/2 cup sliced yellow onion

-1 package 50/50 salad mix (spring mix and spinach)

-Cherry or roma tomatoes (if you use cherry just cut them in half. If using roma dice them)

-1 avocado

-Parmesan Cheese

-Balsamic Vinegar

-Olive Oil

-Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1) Grill your steak with some garlic salt and pepper until cooked to your liking.

2) In the meantime, sauté your bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook until al dente. No soggy veggies here!

3) Wash your salad mix and pat dry. Stick in a large bowl. Add in your cut up tomatoes and avocado.

4) Once everything is done cooking and slightly cooled add it to the salad mix and lightly toss with Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. I don't have exact measurements here because it's totally up to you how strong you want the balsamic taste to be. I would say I did 5-6 tbsp of balsamic to 3 tbsp olive oil give or take. Remember that you can always add more but you can't take it away!

5) I added a little parmesan on top and served with roasted sweet potato! 

Every now and then, a good salad for dinner is just needed!

I can't wait to make this all the time this summer!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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