[Recipe] Warm Squash & Nut Salad

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Warm Squash & Nut Salad

Grab a few autumn ingredients and turn almost any salad into a delicious side dish for cooler weather! This one combines the rich flavors of squash and roasted nuts with the bite of dijon and cranberries.

Serves 4 

Ingredients
1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and diced
3 tbsp dried cranberries
3/4 cup apple juice
4 cups of lettuce (we like baby romaine, arugula or baby spinach)
1/2 cup toasted nuts (we prefer walnuts or pecans)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp minced shallots
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp canola oil



Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
Place the butternut squash in a large bowl. Toss with the canola oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast the squash for 15 to 20 minutes. Toss after 10min. Bake until tender.
While that is cooking, add the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for about 7min or until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Take it off the heat and whisk in mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
Place the lettuce in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the cranberries, the nuts, and the grated Parmesan.
Spoon some vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

[Recipe] Sausages and Salad

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Although I love shopping at our local market, I don't always have the time. Stocking up on the basics at my local wholesale store can make home cooking a reality more often at my house. However, it is not always obvious about what to do with large quantities of pantry essentials- that is where Wholesale Wholesome comes in. The recipes developed under this title use easy to find foods at your local wholesale store that can be whipped up quickly and provide a nutritious meal for the whole family.

Before the summer is officially over, I wanted to sneak in another BBQ meal idea. At our house we find sausages are a great freezer staple since they are already packaged in individual portions and can be used as is (like in this recipe) or as an added flavourful meat to almost any meat dish (check out my Asian inspired meatloaf). If accompanied by a salad, this meal is balanced and complete.

Also, it can be hard getting through all that fresh vegetables when purchased in bulk. We find that we can eat more veggies and use them up faster when we treat ourselves to pre-washed and prepared veggies. With greens you can throw them in a bowl or on top of a pizza (with arugula)- either way they are easy and add a nice flavor to the meal.

Sausages and Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 sausages (flavor of your choice. We like milk Italian)
4 long buns or baguette pieces, sliced lengthwise
4-6 cups of lettuce (we used green and purple baby romaine)
1/4 red onion, sliced

Salad Dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tsp grainy mustard
1/2 garlic clove, minced or grated with a microplane
1 tsp lemon juice

Directions
1. Fill a medium sized pot with water and boil on high heat. Preheat your bbq to med-high heat.
2. Place the sausages in the water and boil on med-high heat for 20min.
3. Remove the sausages from the water and place on oiled bbq for about 10min. Flip half way through. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165oF for chicken/turkey sausages and 160oF for other ground meat sausages.
4. Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and whisk until blended. Place the lettuce and onions in a medium sized bowl and toss with dressing just before serving.
5. Place each sausage in a bun and top with your favourite condiments. We love mustard, onions and sauerkraut.