Fall Into…Fresh Recipes

 
 

FALL HARVEST SALAD

This recipe was modified from “As Easy as Apple Pie”.

Great for lunch, as a light dinner, or at your next fall gathering!

INGREDIENTS:

  • Butternut squash – peeled, cubed, and roasted in the oven. If you want to save time, you can buy pre-cut butternut squash.

  • Kale – any variety, chopped into bite-sized pieces.

  • Quinoa – you can use white, multi-color, or red quinoa for this recipe. Don’t forget to rinse it before cooking to get rid of the bitterness.

  • Apples – use a nice crunchy apple, chopped or sliced. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Fuji, and Jazz apples are our favorites.

  • Ferris Nut Co. Dried cranberries – add sweetness and a pop of color.

  • Ferris Nut Co. Pepitas – pecans and roasted pumpkin seeds add crunch, flavor, and healthy fats.

  • Crumbled feta cheese – lends creaminess and a salty punch.

  • Frederik's by Meijer Sweet Apple Dressing – an artful balance of light and tangy apple cider vinegar and notes of sweet apple, this bright dressing is the perfect base for your dream salad.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Roast the butternut squash – toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast until tender.

  2. Prepare the quinoa – cook the quinoa and once it’s ready, fluff it with a fork and let it cool.

  3. Massage the kale – kale can be tough and bitter. Massage it with half of the dressing to bring out the sweetness and make it more tender. Add the kale to a salad bowl with 1/2 of the dressing, and toss until it’s evenly coated.

  4. Assemble – add the quinoa, butternut squash, and apples into the bowl with the kale, and toss to combine.

  5. Serve – divide the salad between 3 plates, add the toppings, drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the top, and serve.

ALTERNATIVES:

  • Greens – Baby arugula or spinach would also be delicious.

  • Butternut squash – you could also use sweet potatoes or another kind of winter squash.

  • Cheese – swap the feta cheese with goat cheese or blue cheese.

  • Nuts – Try walnuts, pistachios, or candied pecans.

  • Quinoa – Swap in wild rice, farro, or your favorite grain.

  • Fruit – use pears, figs, or pomegranate seeds instead of apples.

  • Dried berries – dried tart cherries or raisins are a great alternative.

  • Make it vegan/dairy-free – leave out the cheese and sprinkle nutritional yeast over the top.

  • Add protein – toss in some chickpeas, leftover shredded chicken, sliced steak, or tofu.

 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup (Vegan)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tbs sesame oil (or sub coconut or avocado oil)

  • 1 large yellow onion, diced

  • 1 tbsp garlic, minced

  • 4 cups cubed butternut squash

  • 3 cups diced sweet potatoes

  • 2 1/4- 1/2 tsp salt ( & pepper to taste )

  • 2 tbsp + 1 tsp True Goodness Organic Curry Powder

  • 1 tsp True Goodness Organic Turmeric

  • 1 tsp True Goodness Organic Ground Paprika

  • 3 cups Meijer Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth

  • 1 13.5 oz can full-fat coconut milk

  • 3 tbsp unsweetened Ferris Nut Co. All Natural Peanut Butter

  • 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice

  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

  • 1-3 tbsp coconut sugar (or sub maple syrup)

FOR SERVING (optional):

  • Ferris Nut Co. Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

  • Cilantro

  • Full-fat coconut cream

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large Stoneware pot, heat sesame oil over medium heat.

  2. Add onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and continue cooking for another

    2-3 minutes.

  3. Add in squash, sweet potatoes, and spices. Stir well to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes stirring a few times.

  4. Add broth and coconut milk and bring to boil. Then, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until squash is fork-tender (about

    40 minutes).

  5. After the veggies have softened, add peanut butter, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and coconut sugar. Stir well.

  6. Use either an immersion blender or a regular blender to purée soup until smooth. If using a blender, make sure it's heat-sale.

  7. Taste and adjust spices as desired.

  8. Garnish with coconut cream, cilantro, and pumpkin seeds as desired.

 

Pumpkin Pie Dip

This recipe was modified from “Delish.com”.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Meijer heavy whipping cream

1 (3.4-oz.) box instant vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup Meijer canned 100% pure pumpkin

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Shortbread cookies, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a stand mixer, beat heavy whipping cream and vanilla pudding mix until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.

  2. Add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and stir to combine, then chill if desired.

  3. Sprinkle over top with pumpkin pie spice. Serve with shortbread cookies.

ALTERNATIVES:

Heavy Cream Substitute - If you’re looking for a more decadent dip then cream cheese would be a great addition. Or if you’d like to keep it less “cream” heavy, place in whole-fat Greek yogurt.

Shortbread Substitute - apple slices, cannoli shells, graham crackers, ginger snap cookies, or vanilla wafers would also be delicious.