Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, Dried Cherries and Pomegranates

Wild rice salad is rich and nutty, sweetness of roasted squash, the dried cherries or cranberries add pockets of sweetness, the pomegranate seeds add pops of sweet tart crunch, the walnuts add bursts of nutty crunch and the feta crumbles add a creamy, salty tang. It's a perfectly balance of complimentary flavors and textures .

This wild rice recipe calls for 1- 1/2 cups wild rice blend. Prepackaged wild rice blends are a blend of rices, which give you firm, fluffy cooked textures and robust, nutty, earthy vibrant flavors. I used Lundberg Wild Blend Rice which is made of long grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, whole grain wehani rice, whole grain black japonica rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 onion chopped about 1 cup
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1- 1/2 cups wild rice blend rinsed and drained
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1- 1/2 cups apple juice may sub for chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley (may sub for 1 tablespoon fresh)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp each dried oregano, dried rosemary, ground cumin, pepper

To add in after rice is cooked 

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries
• 3 tablespoons feta crumbles

Roasted Butternut Squash

• 2 cups butternut squash peeled and chopped into 3/4” cubes
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 TB. maple syrup
• Sprinkle of Saigon Cinnamon

Directions:

• Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat (that has a tight fitting lid). Add onions and cook until softened. Add in garlic and rice and cook one additional minute.
• Add all remaining wild rice ingredients to the skillet (broth, spices). Cover and reduce heat to low. Gently simmer 45-60 minutes, or until rice is tender, stirring and replacing lid occasionally towards the end of cooking. Add additional water if rice has absorbed all the liquid and is still not done cooking. Check for doneness at 45 minutes. Once rice is tender, remove from heat (with lid on) and let steam 10 additional minutes (this will make for fluffier rice).
• While rice is cooking, preheat oven to 400 degrees Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, In a bowl toss butternut squash with olive oil, maple syrup and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until tender.
• Once rice is cooked, drain rice but don’t rinse and add to serving bowl. Stir in roasted butternut squash, sliced almonds, pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries and feta. Toss to evenly combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve over greens if desired.

Just in case you have any extra leftover Reeses Peanut Butter Cups from Halloween here's a great cupcake idea.

http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2016/02/reeses-peanut-butter-cupcakes-2.html