Maple Dijon Hasselback Butternut Squash

Celebrate the beauty, seasonality and deliciousness of butternut squash by making this unique, fun recipe. Hasselback Butternut Squash is both fabulous in taste and a total show-stopper in presentation. The flavors of maple syrup and Dijon marry together in a herb-y glaze that undeniably compliments the roasted shingles of this slightly sweet orange-hued beauty. This is a side dish that will shine served next to a baked ham or roasted turkey. But, it's, also, enjoyable as a main dish served with a salad for a simple fall or winter dinner.

I am not going to lie to you, however. Preparation here is a bit of a time and effort investment, but is definitely worth it.

First the squash will need cut in half lengthwise. Then, you'll need to scoop out the pulp and seeds. Next, the two halves will need peeled.

Peeling a butternut squash is not the easiest task in the world. But, it is totally doable and totally worth the effort. It took me about ten minutes to peel mine. It pays to be sure to have sharp blades on your peeler. {I tried two different ones that I had. One was newer and so much easier to use.}

Following the peeling, the two halves will need to be popped into the oven for about twenty minutes just to start to soften the flesh so that it is easy to slice through. Please do not attempt to make your tiny cuts {shingles} while the squash is completely raw. Very risky and almost impossible.

After slicing, you'll be brushing on a glaze a few different times before and during the roasting process. And, at the end, you'll top the squash with chopped pecans just before hiking the oven temp up to give everything one last blast of really high heat.

Note that if your squash is super large {like mine}, you should be able to get four-to-six servings out of it so long as you're serving it as a side dish and not a main dish. If your squash is petite, you're probably looking at two-to-four servings.

Vegetarian Cauliflower Rice Taco Salad

I have been eating mostly vegetarian for over a year now. I would say that I am vegetarian probably ninety percent of the time. I still use chicken stock in many of my soups. I occasionally dribble a little gravy over my mashed potatoes when I make a big Sunday dinner for the family. And, being a food blogger means that I taste all of the dishes that I make while testing recipes - meat or otherwise. But, I never really sit down and eat an actual "meat forward" meal very often. One thing I have missed terribly is traditional tacos, taco salads and burritos. That was until I started making tacos with cauliflower rice.

It changed my life. Seriously. I can enjoy tacos again ... tacos that actually taste as if regular seasoned ground beef is included. Like, cauliflower rice seasoned with taco seasoning is amazing, guys. And, it tastes like, well ... taco meat. I will admit I was hesitant even as it was cooked up and ready in the pan. When I tasted it, I thought that it tasted like cauliflower rice cooked up with taco seasoning. But, get it in a taco or taco salad with all of the fixings ... mind blown.

I feel like a whole new world opened up to me with this concept. Frozen cauliflower rice may scare some of you. Please don't let it. Even my ten-year old daughter who despises cooked cauliflower said that it felt as if she was eating regular taco meat. (That's huge.)

For this post, I've utilized the cauliflower rice taco "meat" in a taco salad. But, it works just as great in regular tacos or loaded burritos. When we tried it in tacos, we definitely agreed that the one notable difference between cauliflower rice versus ground beef is the lack of fat/grease. But, once sour cream and/or guacamole was added into the taco, that void was totally filled. So, I would recommend the inclusion of one or the other (or both).

Yields 4 servings.

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup with Parmesan Croutons

I often say that I could live on salads during the summer months and on soup during the chilly months {with maybe a casserole thrown in every now and then for good measure}. I've shared with you an abundance of soup recipes over the past five years here on Joyously Domestic. Recently, I posted a collection of Fourteen Tantalizing and Comforting Soup Recipes and it took off like wildfire here on the blog and on social media. So, I know I'm not alone in my adoration of soup.

Now, with that said, I understand that not everyone particularly digs cauliflower. But, even if you insist that it is the evilest of vegetables, I think you may be a bit surprised at just how amazing it is roasted and spun into a creamy soup. Seriously.

Just the roasted cauliflower alone almost did me in. I had to restrain myself from eating half of the batch when it came out of the oven ... before the soup-making process had really even gotten off of the ground. {I'll definitely have to randomly roast up a slew of cauliflower florets more often just for snacking purposes. For sure.}

The fabulous news about this soup? It is quite healthful. Can you believe the recipe has ZERO butter, milk or cream? It's, basically, a combo of cauliflower, garlic and chicken stock with a few seasoning components. {And, if you really wanna be healthy, I guess one could omit the croutons. But, I would not recommend it, friends.}

NOTE:  Know that the recipe as written only yields four smaller-sized servings. {This soup isn't necessarily one that a big, whopping bowl is needed at one sitting as it's somewhat decadent and rich in taste and texture. It's a pretty easy recipe to double, however, to feed a larger crowd if needed.

Yields 4 servings.

Sweet and Salty Halloween Bark

You can't go wrong with chocolate {or any type of candy really} this time of year. The spirits of ghosts and goblins may be in the air. But, truth be told ... sweets are on our minds. {What parent doesn't look forward to raiding those Trick-or-Treat buckets after the kiddos' bedtime on the night of October thirty-first?} As if we didn't get enough sugar this month, I give you Sweet and Salty Halloween Bark.

My kiddos and I love making different types of bark for different seasons. Besides the fact that it's a simple enough of a "recipe," barks are just so darn fun to make and they really allow for an abundance of creativity. What you include is pretty much up to you. It's a very adaptable, customizable recipe. By starting with a base of melted bittersweet/semi-sweet chocolate, you create a foundation for whatever candy, nuts, dried fruit, sprinkles, etc. that suit your fancy.

NOTE: I highly recommend some sort of pretzels or salted nuts to create that ideal sweet and salty combination. The salty component really counteracts the amount of sweetness present. Furthermore, some coarse salt can be sprinkled on top of the melted chocolate, if desired, to really drive home the salty flavor.