Roasted Butternut Squash and Grapes with Rice and Beans

Inspired by a newfound web site, The Garden Girl, I talked Marco into helping me built a really nice raised bed for my future veggie garden.  (Well, I’ve got to give Marco most of the credit; he did all of the “heavy lifting”.)  I can’t wait to fill it with rich organic soil and compost and start growing some great Grub!  Not like I know what I’m doing.  I think I’ll just learn as I go.

After all that hard work we were starving.  By 1:30 it was time for lunch.  I had thrown some butternut squash, baby carrots, and some grapes in the oven to roast around 12:30.  They turned out perfect, and to my surprise, the grapes were delicious!  I then made a complete meal by tossing them with some left over rice and beans.  Here’s what I did...

Roasted Butternut Squash and Grapes with Rice and Beans (E2L friendly)

1 medium butter nut squash, peeled and cut into 1” cubes

a large handful of baby carrots

a large handful of sweet green grapes

1T olive oil 

salt and pepper

1-2 cups of leftover brown rice

1/2 a can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 a can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2T chopped pecans

a drizzle of Citrus Chipotle Sauce (a Grub recipe), or use your favorite vinaigrette

spinach leaves

Toss the squash, carrots, onion, grapes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, tossing half way through.  Slightly cool on counter.

Now lightly toss the squash mixture with the rice, beans, and pecans.  (Leftover brown rice can be a little hard.  You may want to add a drop of water and microwave for 30 seconds to soften it up.)  Dress with Citrus Chipotle Sauce or your favorite vinaigrette and spoon over a nice big bed of spinach.

Variation:

Switch out the butternut squash for sweet potato.  Use another salad green in place of the spinach.  If you have something comparable in the fridge or pantry, use that first before you make a special trip to the grocery store.  Keep it simple!

I can’t wait to make these kinds of dishes with my home grown produce.  Then Marco will see it was well worth the effort and maybe I can talk him into expanding the vegetable garden!