Weeknight meals are such a thing. It's like a different type of food - it's own vibe. We all need to connect as a family, we are VERY hungry, usually VERY tired and often short on time. What to do?
In this little fall series of Weeknight Meals I hope to bring you a grip of healthy, doable weeknight meals you can add to your 'go to' recipe list. Meals that will be received with no crying from toddler and translate into lots of brainpower at school the next day. And with minimal clean up so Mom and Dad get some time to connect at night too.
Meal Idea #2: End of Summer Corn and Butternut Salad.
Salads don't always have to be green or based on a leaves. I love a good warm vegetable salad - it's like a healthy healthy comfort dish.
I love the flavors of end of Summer, they're warm and so fully of color and flavor. Like they've been absorbing light and sun for months and ready to share that richness with us!
This salad goes so well with the Mexican Shredded Chicken! You can turn it into Pile of Food, or serve it as a bright side with Flank Steak, Roast Chicken, or a boost to simple Quesadillas etc.
Ingredients:
4 ears of Corn, corn kernels cut off
2 cups peeled and diced Butternut squash
1 ripe Tomato, diced
1 handful Cilantro, chopped
1/4 (sweet) Maui Onion, diced
Sea Salt
Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Hemp Hearts
1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds
Juice of 1 Lime
1 Cup Microgreens (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 450
Slice the kernels off of the Corn and transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and a little drizzle of olive oil.
Line a second cookie sheet and place the diced Butternut on it. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, just like you did with the Corn.
Roast both trays for 15-20 mins until just golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool toe room temperature.
Combine the roasted Corn and Butternut in a large salad bowl, then top with the rest of the ingredients. I like to just keep adding things on top, finishing with the Microgreens.
Finish with a sprinkle of Sea Salt, the juice of 1 Lime, and a little drizzle of Olive Oil. You can toss this at the table or when you are ready to serve.
This will keep in the fridge all week! Add it to Salad Greens, use as a filling for vegan Tacos, or simply enjoy as a cold salad with a little Feta.
xo Beth