Acorn Squash & Kale Fall Salad

This salad is not only super healthy, it's also a sign that fall is on it's way! While it really tastes good any time of year, I'm a squash eater through & through when the weather starts to chill a bit. 

Salad Ingredients:

(1) acorn squash, cooked

1/2 bag of kale, steamed

1 cup of quinoa, cooked

1-2 sweet red apples, sliced

Lemon Dressing Ingredients:

1/3 cup lemon juice or fresh squeezed

3/4 cup Olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Shake all ingredients together & taste as you go to get desired consistency & flavor

This will make more than you need for 2 servings but keep it in a jar  it's fantastic over other salads!

Making the Salad:

1. Slice acorn squash in half, lengthwise. Brush the insides with olive oil, salt & pepper then place face down in a shallow baking dish/pan. Put water in the bottom of the pan to avoid burning & bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until a fork can easily poke through the squash.

2. While the squash is cooking, rinse & cook quinoa as directed. Once cooked, allow to cool.

3. Steam kale, then allow to cool.

4. Make dressing (measurements are guesses only, I rarely measure & taste as I go!)

5. Once the squash has cooked through, remove from the oven & allow it to cool just a bit before slicing. I prefer to eat the skin of the acorn but if you don't like it, you can remove the skin.

6. Slice apples last  (or you can do this after step 4 and spritz with lemon to avoid browning.)

7. To plate, I place the kale first (since this is a salad, I like the majority of my plate to be kale), then top with quinoa, sliced acorn & sliced apples, then drizzle with lemon dressing.