Fall is here! I must say that even though Summer in the north east was well... short. Fall has been absolutely perfect. I can't remember the last time we had such perfect Fall days. As we know, I like to take advantage of seasonal fruits and veg. Squashes of all shapes and sizes are the perfect staple for any meal. Spaghetti squash is my favorite, but, who has time to make that on a week night? Tonight, I whipped up a quick (protein-packed) dish with pre-cut butternut squash.

Now, usually if you take a spin around a cookbook or Pinterest you'll find butternut squash meals with sage, sage, and more sage. Now, sage and butternut squash are the perfect marriage, like peanut butter & jelly, but, I didn't have that in my kitchen tonight so I turned to my old friend, Rosemary (she's so good to me).

Chop butternut squash and rosemary into small pieces. Drizzle with extra virgin o/o, salt, & pepper and stick on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 425 degree oven. (the smaller the pieces - the faster it cooks)

Chop up two cloves of garlic and throw in a extra virgin o/o pan with organic chicken. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Leave some of the garlic behind and chop up some goat cheese. Set aside.

Throw (Barilla protein plus) pasta in the pot when the squash has been in the oven for about 10 minutes. Then, cook the pasta for ten and finish up the chicken (little less than 10 mins on med heat).

Drain the pasta about 90-95% (a little pasta water is good) and add all of the ingredients: goat cheese, a little more chopped rosemary, the remaining garlic, extra virgin o/o. salt, pepper, and sunflower seeds. Mix it up and serve!

Ah, and don't drop half of the squash in the sink like I did..................... (see how most of it is missing) Sigh.

So, I made a quick little instagram video that walks through the entire process... HERE. Even though I dropped most of my beautifully cooked squash in the sink - this was still REALLY good. Loaded with protein and a, c, b's, and fiber from the squash. The goat cheese adds a nice bite, too. Who says butternut squash's only friend is Sage? She's cool, but, Rosemary works just as well.

Have an awesome week!

I wanted to make salmon tonight and either grill it or broil it like I usually do. Then I remembered that I forgot lemons.... again.... at Foodies. Pissed! (for you know, 1.5 seconds). Then I thought about what I could use from my little herb garden which reminded me of a pin I pinned on Pinterest (a pin I pinned on Pinterest - is this even a real phrase now?) a couple weeks ago. Did that pretty little salmon have rosemary on it? Oh yes, yes it did. Perfect.

The original recipe calls for the 'crust' to consist of just garlic & rosemary. As I was chopping, it was basically begging me to add the tiniest amount of butter to the mixture (honestly, half a pad, if that). Also, I drizzled the filet with olive oil and salt, of course.

This meal only took about 20 minutes to make. The sweet potatoes you see are easy. Just preheat the oven to 425, chop a sweet potato and drizzle with extra virgin o/o, salt & pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes then flip them around and keep baking for another 10 minutes. (I threw the salmon in with them for the last 10 minutes).

The little avocado, tomato, feta salad is something I make constantly (pretty sure it's in a bunch of my posts). Just chop the avo/tomatoes/basil and add feta and extra virgin o/o. So easy.

So as a little recap... Need:

- Wild Salmon

- Extra Virgin o/o

- Salt

- Pepper

- Couple sprigs of rosemary, chopped

- 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

- 1/2 - 1 pad of butter

- Sweet Potatoes

- Avocado, Tomato, Feta, Basil

- Salmon: 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes depending on size

- Potatoes: 400-425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes

So, not only was this meal crazy delicious, but, it has so many health benefits I don't even know where to begin! Sooo let's see, Omegas, vitamin D, B12, and protein from the Salmon. Mono-unsaturated fats from the extra virgin o/o & Avo. Mega-antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties from the garlic. Tons of A, C, B's, and Potassium from the sweet potato. C, lycopene, & antioxidants from the tomatoes. Anddd, fiber, iron & calcium from the Rosemary. You go ahead and eat this and you enjoy yourself!

Have an awesome week!