Menu October 13, 2013

Happy October! I've been too busy enjoying cool weather, rainy weekends, baby showers (my sister's!) and trips to New Orleans. But trust me, there have been plenty of tasty meals in between. Take this weekend, for instance. Something about a rainy weekend in Austin is so unique and magical (except for maybe those who were at ACL this weekend - sorry about that!), it's like snow. When that happens, it pretty much cries for a day in the kitchen. So, I roasted a chicken and prepped food for the week. Delightful! I hope your week is too:

• Sunday - Roasted chicken with sage and a butternut squash, lentil and goat cheese salad (recipe below)
• Monday - Greek Salad with olives, cranberries and feta (I had a delicious one at Phara's this weekend, trying to recreate it. Stay tuned for the recipe if it works!)
• Tuesday - Spaghetti squash with a walnut-miso glaze from Saveur with a salad
• Wednesday - Chicken parm with oven roasted tomato sauce from Cooking Light with broccoli
• Thursday - Spaghetti squash fritters with sriracha mayo from Cooking Light
• Friday - surprise dinner out!

And now for the delightful part - it's our two year anniversary on Monday! We're kicking off festivities with lots of tasty eats and fun this weekend.

Butternut squash, lentil and goat cheese salad

2 cups butternut squash cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup green lentils
1 clove garlic
4 ounces greens (I used a mix of spinach, kale, chard and mustards)
2 ounces Pure Luck chevre (or your favorite goat cheese), crumbled
2 tablespoons pickled mustard seed maple syrup (recipe on Ladies' Home Journal)

Preheat oven to 374. Toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast 35 minutes. Meanwhile, place lentils in 6 cups of cold water with garlic clove and salt and peppper. Bring to a boil, lower temperature and cover, cook for 15-20 minutes. Strain and remove garlic clove.

In a large bowl, add greens, goat cheese and dressing. Top with squash and lentils and toss. Enjoy!