It's officially the first full week in November and I am so ready for the holidays!
Halloween is fun, but it's kind of not our thing. Jake and I are the lamest people I know on Halloween. Every year comes and goes without any costumes or much candy passing out time. I simply love decorating for fall and hiding in a blanket fort watching Stranger Things instead! Who else is with me?!
And what were the best costumes you saw this year?? I am always a fan of the Jack and Sally combo or Hogwarts students!
And I also want to address my neglectfulness on the blog the past few weeks. It has sincerely been bothering the crap out of me cause I was on a good streak of posting at least twice a week and then nothing. Notta. Zilch.
Why?
Cause we bought and moved into our first home!!! So excited to talk about this. But I want to give you all the full tour of our colonial in another post. I plan on creating another tab on the blog so you can watch the progress as we renovate and DIY the heck out of this place! SO SO EXCITED!
And also, I just recently found my blog props to actually start taking recipe shots last week. So there's that... lol
Now let's talk all things November and Thanksgiving recipes!
I like to keep my Thanksgiving menu wholesome. Full of real food, real ingredients, and on the lighter side. But still tastes completely indulgent and that the whole family will LOVE!
With so much indulgence in the holiday season, I feel there needs to be some balance on the table.
So today we are talking about this "Pomegranate,Bacon, and Roasted Squash Salad". Guys, I have actually had this recipe written down since LAST YEAR. I just had so much going on with family stuff and a big Whole30 Recipes takeover that I just didn't get around to it!
So when, Ayoga-Yo Biltong reached out to me to try their product, I knew exactly which salad I wanted to add their beef slices too. Hence my quotes around "bacon". It really tastes like salty bacon but of higher quality. I love tearing off little bites and adding them to any salad or basically any where you would add bacon anyways. It definitely surprised me with how much it tastes like bacon and home made jerky at the same time. SO SO GOOD.
And if you aren't familiar with biltong it is a high protein snack with high quality beef that is air-dried for 14 days and isn't cooked like regular jerky. The result is a tender slice of beef without any sugar or artificial ingredients <---pretty much my thang. You guys know I am NOT into that artificial crap.
And it basically makes the perfect compliment to this sweet and savory fall salad. To me a great fall salad needs some seasonal fruit and some caramelized roasted squash to add more texture and flavor depth.
I bought some pre-cut butternut squash for a quick time saver and roasted them in the oven while I assembled the rest of the salad.
Bed of dark greens, sauteed figs, roasted squash, salty "bacon", dried cranberries, and a sprinkle of pepita seeds and pecans to make the perfect salad to go on your Thanksgiving table this year.
This salad really couldn't get easier. And when coming up with Thanksgiving recipes this year I am keeping things simple. We already have enough going on in the kitchen that day that we don't need more fuss. And since your oven will be on already, a small baking pan of squash won't be an issue. Plus, you can make the squash ahead of time and warm up a little before adding on the salad on the big day.
Almost forgot! Not intentional, but this salad is also Whole30 friendly! Guess It just comes naturally to me now ;).
Although honestly? I am making this salad pretty much every week this month! So good and great for meal prep lunches!
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