Squash-n-Sprout Salad

Summer time is salad time, and I simply love this salad! It can be a marvelous meatless meal for some, or a super yummy side dish for the carnivores of the world.  Either way, it’s light yet filling, tangy yet sweet, crunchy yet smooth, and super good for you.  A perfect choice for lunch or dinner on a hot summer day.

• 1 lb Brussel Sprouts/ halved
• 3 C Butternut Squash/cubed
• 3 C Fresh Spinach
• 1 C Quinoa (uncooked)
• 1 ½ C Water
• ½ C Craisins
• ½ C Chopped Pecans
• 3 T water
• 5 Drops Wild Orange Essential Oil
• 2 T Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 T Chia Seed
• ½ t Salt
• ½ t Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place it on a greased cookie sheet with the halved sprouts, and bake for 25 minutes.*
3. Remove sprouts and place in a large glass bowl.
4. Continue baking squash another 10 – 15 minutes making sure to not overcook. Make sure it is cooked “el-dente” so it can be cut into cubes without being “mush”
5. Set cooked squash aside to cool.
6. Rinse Quinoa in a strainer.
7. Heat up a sauce pan over medium heat.
8. Add the Quinoa and cook stirring frequently, until lightly toasted.
9. Add the 1 ½ C water, and turn up the flame to high.
10. Once water begins to boil, cover pan and cook over medium heat 15 – 20 minutes, or when all of the water is gone.

While that’s cooking…..

1. Mix vinegar, chia, wild orange, salt and pepper, and 3 T water in a small glass bowl.
2. Cube the Squash and add to the Brussel Sprouts
3. Add the Spinach, Craisins, and Pecans
4. Fold in the orange dressing
5. Fold in the cooked Quinoa–the hot Quinoa wilts the spinach perfectly and clings to the dressing.

Serve alone or with a grilled fish or chicken breast!  Yum!

*Tip:  If you fancy yourself a  grill master, try cooking the squash and sprouts on the grill—I do because I don’t have air conditioning and who wants the oven on in the summer, right?

Thank you for reading my post. Does this recipe sound yummy?  If you try it out let me know what you think! All comments are greatly appreciated.  Check out more great recipes under my Killer Cookin’ blog category, and if you like what you see, please let me know by “liking” my website. You can even join my tribe to automatically receive new postings ‘hot off the press’. There’s a place to do that right on my home page.  Want to start cooking with Essential Oils?  Fantastic, I can help! You can find out more at my.doterra.com/prbrady.  As always, please feel free to share my information with others who may find interest and value in PR Brady AdVentures!  Thanks again!