Butternut Squash Quinoa Tots

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa

• 1 very large handful of spinach, chopped

• 2 cups cooked butternut squash or sweet potato

• 2 eggs

• 2 tbsp cheddar cheese

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• Salt to taste

• Sprinkle of flour as needed

What to Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two baking sheets with olive oil or nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, mix quinoa, spinach, and butternut squash together, smashing with your hands to combine.

3. Add eggs, cheese, garlic powder, turmeric, and salt to taste. Combine with your hands!

4. The consistency will be pretty wet, so add a couple five finger pinches of flour and mix until you can easily mold a ping pong size amount of batter into a 2 inch-ish tot. If it's really sticky and you're struggling to mold, add more flour! Just add in slow increments to avoid making the batter super dry.

5. Place tots at least an inch apart on the baking sheet (not too close or they'll steam each other). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until you can flip them with little resistance, getting the other side a chance to crisp. Bake for another 10.

6. Cool a bit before dipping in any sauce of your choosing.

Caramelized Onion White Bean Dip

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• Kosher salt

• Pepper

• Juice of 1 lemon

• Couple sprigs of dill for garnish

What to Do

1. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add onion and stir to evenly distribute around the pan, cook and stir until they start to become translucent.

3. Turn heat down to medium low, and stir every couple of minutes to encourage even cooking and browning.

4. Stir and cook and stir and cook until desired amber color! Around 30 minutes was my sweet spot. I could have gone longer for deeeep caramelized onions, but frankly did not have the time. Transfer onions to a plate and wipe pan clean.

5. Add remaining olive oil to pan and heat over medium heat.

6. Add garlic and cook until they start to take on some color. 2-3ish minutes.

7. Add beans! Mix and season with salt and pepper. Turn down to medium low.

8. Cook and stir occasionally until things start to juuuust start to thicken up, around 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until they're no longer piping hot.

9. In a blender, add beans and lemon juice. Blend until desired consistency. Scoop out into a bowl.

10. Roughly chop caramelized onions and add to bowl o' beans. Stir and season to taste. Garnish with a splash of good olive oil, dill, flaky salt, and more cracked pepper!

Best Oven Fries

Serves: 4
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

I N G R E D I E N T S

• 3 medium Russet potatoes, scrubbed

• 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

• Kosher salt

W H A T T O D O

1. Heat oven to 450°.

2. Slice potatoes into 3/4” spears.

3. Place in large pot and cover with an inch-ish of water; set to high and turn off after 10 minutes (keep watch, want them super al dente and not going mush).

4. Meanwhile, coat a large baking sheet with 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and place it in the oven for a few minutes to get the oil real hot; remove.

5. Put drained potatoes on the hot pan, cover in 1 tbsp oil and sprinkle with salt; place back in oven for 20 minutes.

6. Remove and toss around for even browning; place back in for 5 minutes, repeating as necessary for desired crispiness and color.

7. Remove and season with more salt.