Quinoa Salad with Bacon and Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 large onion, sliced
• half of butternut squash, medium size
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
• salt
• French Vinaigrette salad dressing (add generous amounts of dressing to individual portions)
• 1/4 cup Feta cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (OPTIONAL)

Instructions

Roasted butternut squash:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Peel the squash and slice it into 3/4 inch cubes. You will only need 1/2 of the medium size squash. Toss the squash cubes in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt.
3. Put butternut squash on the greased baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until soft. Flip the squash cubes over midway through baking. Let it cool slightly before adding to the salad.
Caramelized onions:
4. Caramelize sliced onion as described in this post
Assembling the salad:
5. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, chopped and cooked bacon, and mix with the dressing. Add the dressing only before the serving, and add as much as you want to individual portions, as both quinoa and butternut squash tend to be on a dry side, and this dressing (when generously applied) fixes this beautifully!
6. Top each individual serving with Feta cheese and toasted pine nuts (OPTIONAL).
7. Note: This salad keeps very well refrigerated for up to a week, but only without dressing. Add the dressing only before serving.