Butternut Squash & Quinoa Kale Salad

The other day I had my friend Alex over for a girls day of cooking. We pulled a recipe from my new favorite cook book The Real Girl's Kitchen by Haylie Duff. We went for a bit of a brunch dish and it was a huge hit!

Ingredients: 

Serves 1-2

1 cup quinoa

1 butternut squash 

Avocado (optional)

Olive oil

Cayenne 

Nutmeg 

Cinnamon 

3 leaves julienned kale

2 eggs

Sea salt & black pepper 

We preped the butternut squash first by peeling and cubing it. Then we preheated our oven to 375°. 

This will really give you an arm workout. Just as an added bonus, while you're having fun cooking or baking you're also burning calories. The trick is to make sure you don't consume them back while making your delicious dish. Hence the apple in the picture; we needed something to snack on. 

Next came time for my favorite; preping the kale! We julienned the kale and then massaged it with a bit of olive oil. This helps to take some of that bitterness away. 

Also a good trick to keep in mind is to break apart the kale with your hands instead of cutting it with a knife. Especially if you are planning on leftovers with this dish. It helps prevent the leaves from wilting. 

Then it was time for the quinoa. We chose to mix red and brown quinoa just for a bit more color. You can soak the quinoa overnight or just cook it on the stove as we did. 

The nice thing about quinoa is that it can be dressed up many different ways to compliment almost any dish. It has qualities similar to rice but has more than double the amount of protein. 

Before tossing the butternut squash into the oven for about 40 minutes, we drizzled it with a bit of olive oil. Followed by a pinch of cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

We bought extra kale to make kale chips. I'll post our recipe for that as well if you guys are interested.

One of our favorite things about cooking with squash or pumpkin is the seeds inside. We always bake them for a lovely snack later.

Alex and I have a huge thing for kale, hummus, and avocados, so it was only fitting that we added our own little touch avocado to spice up our plate. It was a delicious addition and a great source of healthy fats, protein, and color. 

Finally we tossed everything into a bowl and fried up two eggs in a skillet over medium heat to top it all off. Feel free to add salt & pepper on top to taste. We made quite a few servings because we wanted lots of leftovers. 

One of my favorite things about Haylie's cookbook is her added little tips & tricks, personal stories and colorful photos. She really made it her own and you can really learn a lot about food and cooking from her book. Personally, I think all cookbooks should be like this. You should be able to learn about what you're making not just how to make it. 

Anyways, hope you enjoy this recipe friends! Let me know if you try it or have any suggestions to make it even yummier! 

Happy reading friends!