Meal Type: Side-dish

Move over butternut–delicata squash is your best squash friend this Thanksgiving. Its small size and cylindrical shape mean it is incredibly easy to cut and prep, and here’s the best part: NO PEELING. When roasted, the skin softens enough that you won’t even notice it’s there, we promise.

Ingredients:

1 medium delicata squash
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts, or chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Cut the delicata squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Cut each half crosswise into 1/4-inch crescents.

Place squash on a non-stick sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and chili powder. Using your hands or a spatula, toss to coat.

Roast the squash for 25-30 min, until deeply browned around the edges.

While the squash is roasting, make the lemon garlic sauce. Measure the yogurt into a small bowl and add the lemon and garlic. Stir to combine. Make sure it’s thin enough that it falls off the spoon in a drizzle – you might have to thin it out with more lemon juice or a bit of water. Set aside.

Remove the squash from the oven. While it’s still warm, drizzle the maple syrup or honey over the squash. Using a spatula, toss to coat.

If you’re using honey, heat it up in a saucepan for a few minutes before using, otherwise it will be too thick to drizzle.

Arrange the squash crescents on a serving plate. Drizzle the lemon garlic sauce over it, and (optionally) sprinkle with pumpkin seeds or other chopped nuts.

Recipe provided by: Anna Meyer (Gorman) – Children’s Program and Extra Helpings Administrator

​Makes 1 small loaf (loaf should serve 4, but maybe make 2 loaves if you have big eaters in your house)
Active time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 30-35 minutes
Total time: about 1 hour

​For when you realize you would really like to have bread with dinner but it’s already 6pm. This quick bread gets its leavening from baking powder and baking soda instead of yeast, and goes from start to finish in an hour flat.

1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional but recommended)
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning (you can also use a mixture of individual dried herbs such as thyme, oregano, basil, or parsley)
2 tbsp chilled butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup sour cream
1 beaten egg

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and allow to cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the brown sugar and the balsamic and allow to cook until deeply browned, another 10 minutes. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, cheese, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Italian seasoning/herbs.
• Add the chilled butter to the dry mixture. Combine the butter and flour by rubbing the butter between your thumb and fingers until it disappears into the flour. After this step, the mixture should have a uniform, coarse, mealy texture – you shouldn’t be able to see large chunks of butter.
• Measure the sour cream into a small bowl and thin it out with 2 tbsp of water. Add the caramelized onions and stir until the mixture is uniform in color.
• Add the sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients. Using your hands or a rubber spatula, combine until you get a rough dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead for about 1 minute. Shape the dough into a round loaf. Using a sharp knife, cut a 1/2-inch deep cross on the top of the bread. Brush with the beaten egg
• Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Cut along the cross into 4 servings. Best served warm.

TIPS:

• If you don’t want to use your hands, you can also use 2 forks or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients.
• If you don’t have sour cream, you can also use plain whole-milk yogurt or creme fraiche.
• Feel free to use a red onion instead of a yellow onion if that’s what you have on hand. However, if you do use a red onion, reduce the brown sugar to 1 tsp, as red onions have more natural sugar than yellow onions.

Recipe by Anna Gorman

This St. Patrick’s Day, make all your dishes green with this vibrant chimichurri! It’s only four ingredients, comes together in minutes, and it improves nearly every dish it touches. Put it on meat, eggs, cooked vegetables, beans, potatoes…the possibilities are endless! As an added bonus, it’s a great way to use the rest of that bunch of cilantro or parsley that’s slowly wilting in the back of the fridge.

• ½ cup cilantro or parsley
• 2-3 cloves garlic (more or less, depending on how much you like raw garlic)
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• OPTIONAL: red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

• Finely chop the cilantro or parsley (including the stems), and the garlic
• In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients.
• This sauce is best used the same day it’s made, but will keep for about 3 days in the refrigerator