Yummy, Comfy, Cozy Fall Dinner

My afternoon inner monologue:

4:30pm:

“Ugh, I don’t want to run. I’m so tired!”

“No you’re not, you’re just feeling sluggish.”

“You’re right. It’s true. I am. I’ll go.”

4:45pm:

“Whee! I’m so glad I’m running – this feels great!”

4:55pm:

“Ok, this is getting hard, but not too hard. Sweet. It appears I didn’t lose all of my abilities in the two and a half week hiatus I took from the trail.”

5:00pm:

“Ok maybe this isn’t too hard, but it’s hurting my joints. They’re going to hate me tomorrow.”

5:01pm

“Crap, am I so old that running hurts my joints now?”

“Yep.”

“Damn!”

5:03pm

“Wait, my blog is Iowa Girl Eats. Can I still call myself a girl if I’m closer to 30 than 20 and my joints hurt when I run? When do you stop referring to yourself as a girl? Is the name of my blog weird?!”

5:10pm

“I’m starving.”

5:11pm

“omg remember that shrimp from Praiano? Seriously though, how’d they get it so tender?? After I retire and move there, I’m going to have to report back on how they do it. Hahaha, I’ll change the name of the blog to “Iowa Grandma Eats”.

5:12pm

“Seriously though, am I too old to call myself a girl?”

5:13pm

“I’m not a girl…not yet a woman…”

“Oh no you didn’t.”

“Oh yes I did! Britney Spears!”

“ moving on…”

Ohhh gosh – I’m so glad people can’t read minds! Please tell me I’m not the only one who talks to themselves about ridiculous things? At any rate, 3.5 miles down the hatch, Britney Spears soundtrack on for the last half of my run…HA!

In other news, I am still MMMM‘ing over dinner! I’m now completely in the Fall state of mind (even though it was 80 degrees today) and made a giant batch of roasted veggies!

Oh yes – it was spectacular and it centered around an acorn squash, sweet potato and Idaho potato.

I started by cutting the ends off an acorn squash. What a sweet little silhouette, right?

Next I used a spoon to scoop out the seeds.

You could roast them like you do pumpkin seeds, but today I just discarded!

I chopped up the seeded acorn squash and added the cubes to the biggest non-stick sprayed glass baking dish I own.

After adding the chopped sweet & Idaho potatoes,

I tossed everything with extra virgin olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.

Throw into a 430 degree oven for 30 minutes!

In the meantime, toss some cored brussels sprouts

and broccoli & cauliflower with the same oil & seasonings, then pop them into the oven when the squash/potatoes are half way done (stirring the mixture before closing the door.)

I let the squash and potatoes sit under the broiler for a few additional minutes at the end to crisp up a little bit more…

…then burnt my tongue as I popped a piece of potato straight into my mouth from the oven because it smelled so.darn.GOOD!!! 

Piled high on top of some brown rice cooked in chicken broth – this was one of the most cozy and comforting dishes EVER.

The potatoes were creamy, the squash was sweet and OH how I’ve missed my roasted brussels sprouts!

Devoured, and then some.  

This would also be yummy if you seasoned the squash and sweet potato with cinnamon & brown sugar and the rest of the veggies with garlic salt & pepper. You get that whole sweet & salty thang goin’ on. Divine.

Oh, so good. Mmm. MMM. I love roasted vegetables!

On the agenda tonight: party planning! I’ve got a baby shower to throw this weekend.

See ya!

~~~~~

Vegetables: love ‘em, or hate ‘em?

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