Butternash Squash and Smokey Beet Grain Bowl

We’ve been calling this one the “sweet bowl” because it has the butternut squash, beets, cherries, baked pair, zucchini bread, goat cheese.. you get it! Some people aren’t really into all these sweet flavors. Buuut, I would disagree. It’s filling, and the smokey beet dressing is UNREAL. We used wild rice as the grain, which is always a good choice. We also baked a side of zucchini bread with this one! We used this recipe. If you plan to bake some (and you should), start this ahead of everything else, it sits in the oven for an hour or longer. We had some pumpkin butter in the fridge too and my oh my it made for a mighty good breakfast bread.

P.S… note the Market West Pinot Noir in the back. Sponsor us, Mark West!! For those who don’t know, we’ve been quarantine retreating at Tim’s parents house on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina, it’s like, fairly rural, but still only 40 minutes from Greenville. Anyway, Tim’s mom makes her weekly run to Costco where we get our case of Mark West Pinot for only $7 a bottle.. I think normally it’s like 11? 12? 14? I mean.. IT’LL DO.

Haha, dang, why does this ingredient photo look weak as heck?

Ingredients!!

• 1 box of wild rice

• 1 head of butter lettuce (ours was even “living lettuce”!!)

• 1 butternut squash

• 1 pear

• Cayenne

• Olive oil

• Maple syrup

• Salt + pepper

• 1/4 cup of goat cheese

• 1/2 cup of cherries

• Beet Dressing:

  • 3 beet slices (canned is cool!)

  • 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

  • 1 TBSP smoked paprika (or more if you want smokier/spicier)

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Grab a sharp knife, cut your butternut squash in half length wise.

   • Brush evenly wish olive oil, maple syrup, and salt + pepper, cayenne (to your spice level)

   • Set squash on baking sheet raw side up.

   • Add your pear to the baking sheet too, bake for 15 minutes.

   • Bake your whole squash for 40 minutes (this may need longer, do the fork slip test!), remove from oven and dice, put back in oven for 20 minutes.

3. Take out your butter lettuce and evenly coat with olive oil + add a pinch of salt. Set aside.

4. Start boiling water for your wild rice and follow directions on box.

5. Peel the skin off your zucchini, throw away. Continue to use your peeler and make zoodles. Mix with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

6. Add zoodles to pan on medium-low heat and cook for about 15 minutes.

7. Cut your cherries into quarters.

8. In blender, add 3 slices of beets, 1 TBSP of smoked paprika, and 2 TBSP of apple cider vinegar. Blend to make dressing.

9. Plate your bowl with wild rice, butter lettuce, zoodles, butternut squash, baked pear slices, cherries, goat cheese, smokey beet dressing, and extra pepper.