Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Ingredients

Salad

Butternut squash, cut in ½ inch cubes

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff)

1 tsp each, salt and pepper

1 tsp fresh or ½ tsp dried thyme

½ cup walnuts

1 bag pre-washed spinach

1 small bunch of arugula (this could be optional if it’s hard to find or you could use all arugula in place of spinach if you love it!)

¼ sliced red onion (about half of a small one)

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing

1 cup apple cider or apple juice

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix butternut squash with olive oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and thyme and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Bake squash about 20 minutes until tender with caramelized edges.

Toast walnuts in a separate pan for about 10 minutes in the same oven.

Remove squash and walnuts from oven to cool about 5 to 10 minutes as you assemble the salad.

While squash is baking, make dressing.

In a small saucepan over medium high heat add apple cider or juice, garlic, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce slightly.

Remove dressing from heat and whisk in mustard and olive oil.

In a large salad bowl, combine spinach and arugula and top with red onion and feta cheese.

Add squash and walnuts to the salad and toss with enough dressing to coat.

Serve immediately and wait for all those YUMS!