Acorn Squash Quinoa Salad

I love fall.

I love soup.

I love squash.

I love pumpkin, which is a squash.

I love tea, and now it is cool enough to want to drink it.

I love pomegranates.

I love crisp apples.

I love apple picking.

I love scarves.

I love sweaters.

I love that the weather is cool so I don't have to get up at 4 AM to run but the trails are still clear of snow.

I love that kids are in school and places aren't crowded....oh wait, 2020, no school + I can't go anywhere.

So....we've been busy here.

Remodeling our house....

Living with my mom....

Homeschooling my Kindergartner....

Virtual speech therapy with my non-speaking 2 year-old....

Working...sometimes....

Staying safe....

Running....

Not going crazy....

So I have not been good about posting on my site. My bad. I post on Insta a lot, but not here. I will try to be better. So this is a favorite. My two-year-old had three servings of it. It is so good. It is simple and a great side dish to a soup or just make a lot of it and eat a lot of it. Hooray!

Ingredients

1 c quinoa, dry

1/2 c garbanzo beans, dry or 1 can garbanzo beans drained

1 acorn squash, peeled and diced

1 apple, diced

1 pear, diced

1/2 c craisins

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp olive oil

1 T syrup

salt, to taste

Directions

1. Combine 1/2 c dry beans and 1/5 c water in an Instapot or other pressure cooker and pressure cook until soft. If using canned beans, ignore this step.

**I do 28 minutes with a natural steam release.**

2. Combine quinoa and 2 c water in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until soft.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel, seed, and dice squash. Rub lightly with oil (optional) and roast 20 minutes until fork tender.

4. Wash, and dice apple and pear. Add to the squash after 10 minutes of cooking.

5. Combine beans, quinoa, squash, apples, pears, and craisins. Stir to combine. Stir in cinnamon, olive oil, maple syrup, and salt. Taste and adjust as needed.

6. ENJOY