Update and a Recipe!

OK here's the deal: I've been taking pictures and want to blog about everything. Too bad Mrs. unprepared over here does not have a USB cord for the new camera. The ghetts point and shoot can't read the new SD card either. So you see I'm in quite a predicament. I'm planning on getting my shiz together this weekend and get to uploading some new pics. In the meantime, I'll share a little sumthin, sumthin that's been sitting as a draft post for a while.

Several weeks ago I hit up one of my favorite lunch spots, Lemonade, for a mid day bite to eat. It's one of my favorites because they offer a super assortment of delicious and healthy lunch options. I can hardly make up my mind on which salad I want to try every time I go. This past visit I had the butternut squash, chicken, and grape salad. It was so yummy and seemed like something I could easily make at home. I made a mental note of the ingredients and then attempted it. I told myself that if the recipe was a success I'd blog about it. Luckily, it came out great!

Wanna try it out? Heres my very loosely put together recipe.

Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Grape Salad (Inspired by Lemonade)

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, chopped/diced/cut up however you want
1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and diced
raw slivered almonds (for toasting; however much you like)
grapes, halved (however much you like)
2 scallions, sliced
parsley, chopped (~ 1/2 cup)

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
*Whisk all 4 dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Throw the diced butternut squash onto your biggest baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss until the squash is evenly seasoned. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the squash becomes soft.


Meanwhile, season your chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper. Heat up some olive oil on a skillet and cook the chicken pieces thoroughly. Set aside.

In a separate skillet, toast the slivered almonds until they start to brown. Careful- they toast quickly!


Combined your cooked chicken, toasted almonds, chopped parsley, and scallions.


Finish up by incorporating the butternut squash and grapes. Toss in the dressing and mix it all together really well.

Enjoy!