ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH (& A FEW OTHER RECIPE LINKS)

I've been wanting to share this recipe since Tuesday of last week, but, other things have happened.  Mainly, my life have has been commandeered by having sick children and/or being sick myself.  Probably like many of you.  From what I understand, this winter has been particularly brutal - at least where we live.  Anyway, here's to the road to recovery being swift.  (Please, God.)

Earlier this month, I decided to try some new recipes.  I love trying new recipes and often do it as much as twice a week.  I've found a couple of new winter favorites that I will definitely return to.  First up - Roasted Butternut Squash.  I made this for our D-Group last week and everyone wanted the recipe - so yummy.



I long ago realized that I am not going to become a famous food blogger or photographer, which makes a lot of sense.  So - that is a very unstyled, just re-heated look at this tasty treat of a meal.  To me, it still looks good and like something I would eat, even on my every day dishes that are nearing the 10 year mark.  I hope you agree.

I used this recipe and then tweaked it.  I used all of the things she suggested.  For my grain, I used quinoa for the first time ever, and it was delicious.  I knew that a lot of guys were going to be eating this, so I added cooked ground sausage.  When I mashed up the baked squash, I added an entire log of goat cheese, because how could we possibly go wrong with that?  I think the beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up based on what you have on hand or what sounds good.  It was a crowd pleaser and quite healthy as well.  Double bonus.

In recent weeks, I've also tried this Crock Pot recipe for beef and broccoli.  We all liked it - even the kiddos.  Next time I will probably use chicken, because John prefers it to red meat, but overall, it was a hit.

Also a major hit at our house - this Crock Pot Coconut Chicken Curry.  We really like curry, but I've never loved the hands-on nature of making it.  This fixes that problem and is really tasty!  I skipped the jalapeño and added cauliflower to ours at the end.  This curry thickens up quite nicely with the corn starch.  Serve over coconut rice with some Naan bread, and I felt like I was in Thailand.  Well, maybe not quite, but I did have vague recollections of our time there while eating this.

I hope this gives you some recipe inspiration!  Happy cooking.