Butternutting A Squash

The Finished Product

 I have a groundbreaking discovery to share with you all: Pinterest is great for finding inspirations of all sorts.

The cubing process: laborious but worth it!

Ok, so that little nugget really wasn't much of a eureka moment, apologies for getting your hopes up. But maybe I've grabbed your attention anyhow. I use Pinterest mainly for food-, fashion- and drinks-pirations, and a few weeks back I struck gold. After buying a butternut squash and doing my usual cubing/roasting, I found myself bereft of what to do with these nutritious orangey-gold bits. Not to fear, Pinterest was to provide! I found the perfect light bulb from The Healthy Foodie 's breakfast bowl series. Not only did I find a great recipe, but an awesome blog to follow as well. Check out Sonia's site for yourself, she makes healthy food delicious and has a great story!

My goal was to translate this tasty (and healthy!) recipe to dinner and here's what I came up with:

Pignolia, Beef and Butternut Squash Fiesta Bowl

Chop station

Serves 1-2

1 cup roasted & cubed butternut squash
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3/4 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup kale
1/4 pound ground beef (I used 90/10 lean)
Sliced Parmesan
Pinch chili flakes
Dollop creme fraiche (if desired)


In a large wok, heat up the olive oil and add the onions/mushrooms. Next, grab a small frying pan and toast the pine nuts until golden brown. Once the onions and mushrooms have softened a bit, add the pine nuts and cover with the kale. Let the kale wilt before adding the ground beef.

Pignolia nuts a roastin'

Coverin' with kale

Ingredients havin' a fiesta!

Keep on medium heat until the beef has browned, and add the prepared butternut squash. Mix all together in the wok until everything has mingled evenly. Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with some sliced Parmesan, chili flakes and dollop of creme fraiche. Grab a fork and dig in!