Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Sausage

Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Sausage

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small butternut squash (about 1 and 1/2 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 medium onion, diced to 1-inch
• olive oil
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Italian sausage links (I used hot Italian)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 and 1/4 cups water
• fresh parsley and/or oregano, for garnish

METHODS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (375 degrees F convection). In a large bowl, toss butternut squash and onion with a good drizzle of olive oil and a liberal sprinkle of salt & pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven, turning once or twice, until squash edges are crispy and browning, about 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, remove sausage from its casing. Coat the bottom of a medium (4 or 5-quart) Dutch oven very lightly with olive oil (just enough to get browning started) and bring to a shimmer over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up with a wooden spatula, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is nicely browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add oregano, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add quinoa and water; stir, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until quinoa is fluffed and water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
3. Add roasted squash & onion to the quinoa. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped fresh parsley or oregano. Serve warm.

Serves 4 as a main dish; 8 as a side with soup or salad.

pumpkin applesauce muffins

some people are into cupcakes
i think we are more into muffins at our house
they have more substance to them
but whether you are into cupcakes or muffins,
you'll love these

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (i used whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
2 cups sugar (i only used 1 1/2 cups because 2 just seemed like a lot)
4 large eggs
1 cup applesauce ( i used my homemade pearsauce)
1 cup canned mashed pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup apple juice or cider or orange juice
1 1/2 cups raisins ( we didn't put in the raisins, instead we did half plain and half with chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, applesauce, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the juice, beginning and ending with the dry mixture; mix until smooth. Fold in raisins or chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup two-thirds full. Bake on the center oven rack until a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in the pans several minutes; turn muffins out onto a rack. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature. Repeat steps 1 through 3 with remaining batter.

Makes almost 2 dozen, we got 23 muffins.

this recipe has been adapted from an oprah winfrey magazine found at the doctor's office