Harvest Rice Bowl with Squash and Brussels Sprouts

Harvest Rice Bowl with Squash and Brussels Sprouts

This is my FAVORITE fall dish! It has all of the best parts of fall - delicious squash, caramelized brussels sprouts, apples, cranberries! As listed below, it makes a giant amount. Feel free to cut everything in half if you don't want as much food. Also feel free to switch out any of the ingredients. Want to use chopped figs or raisins instead of the craisins? Want to use pear instead of apple? Go for it!

Harvest Rice Bowl with Squash and Brussels Sprouts

Yield: 10-12 side servings

Adapted slightly from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut or acorn squash (or 2 big sweet potatoes)

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

2 lbs brussels sprouts

salt and pepper

1 1/3 cups brown rice

3-4 oz sharp cheddar cheese (white or yellow)

½ cup slivered almonds or pine nuts

½ cup dried cranberries

1 large (or 2 small) apple

Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1 clove garlic, minced (or ½ tsp crushed garlic)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel and dice the squash into ~1/2 inch cubes. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder, and lots of salt and pepper. Spread out onto a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring a few times throughout, until soft and caramelized.

Trim brussels sprouts, and then shred (cut each one in half, and then slice the halves). Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread out onto a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and slightly charred.

Meanwhile, cook brown rice according to package instructions. If you have it, replace some of the water with vegetable stock. (We cook brown rice in our Instant Pot and it turns out perfectly every time - for this recipe you would want 1 2/3 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth or water)

Dice the cheese. Core and dice the apple (you can leave the peel on). Toast the nuts until golden brown and fragrant (5-7 minutes at 350 F usually works well).

Mix up the dressing – it works well to add everything to a mason jar and then shake up really well. Just make sure the lid is screwed on tight. 

Using a GIANT bowl, add rice, squash, brussels, cheese, apple, nuts, and cranberries. Toss well. Drizzle over some of the dressing and toss until everything is coated. You probably won’t need all of the dressing, so don’t pour it all on at once. Store leftover dressing in the fridge – it is good on salad.

Serve warm or at room temperature. 

If you are bringing this somewhere, the rice, cranberries, brussels sprouts and butternut squash can all be made and mixed up in advance. I would then re-heat that portion, and then mix in the cheese, nuts, apple and dressing right before leaving. 

Oven-Dried Cinnamon Apple Slices

I've been meaning to try making homemade apple chips forever. I finally gave it a try, and I was really pleased with the results. I wanted chips that were chewy, instead of crispy, so I cut my apples on the thicker side, getting about 10 slices per apple. I chose not to core the apples first, mostly because I don't have something that can remove the core easily without also cutting them into wedges. I used two pink lady apples and two fuji apples, and I think the pink lady apple slices turned out just a little better, but they were both really tasty. I sprinkled on a TON of cinnamon sugar, since I'm a little obsessed with cinnamon. They end up being sweet and tasty snacks, and look really pretty!

Recipe: Oven-Dried Cinnamon Apple Slices
From: Give Recipe

Ingredients:
4 apples
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 F, or as low as your oven will go. (Note: if your oven doesn't go that low, you will have to keep an eye on the apples, since they may take less time to cook.)
Using a sharp knife, or a mandoline, (carefully) slice your apples to your desired thickness, between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the apples out on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, and make sure the slices don't overlap. 

 

Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the sliced apples.

Bake for 1 hour, then take out of the oven and turn over all of the slices. Sprinkle the other side with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for another hour, then turn off the oven and let the slices cool in the oven. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for a few days.