Last night I served one of my easy one protein/two side meals. I tried out a new cod recipe and served it with butternut squash and asparagus. One of my kids said, “If butternut squash is actually good, why did it take you so long to feed it to me?” That’s a ringing endorsement from this crowd! I posted on my social media and a couple of my Facebook friends asked for the recipe, prompting this blog post. Yay! I have been distracted lately with things going on in my personal life (foster parenting, pandemic life, etc.!) and am thrilled for this little motivation to reactive the blog. As a side note, I have served my kids butternut squash before, but only in the form of soup.
I love the simplicity of my one protein/two sides dinner strategy, and I super love any meal I can cook on sheet pans together in the oven. In this case, both sides (but not the main dish) shared the same oven. It took a bit of tweaking because the squash called for a 400 degree oven and the asparagus for a temp of 425, but I just went in the middle at 415 and adjusted the cooking times. I tend to cook things longer than recommended when oven roasting, as my personal preferences is generally more well done.
I’m providing links to the original recipes below, but here is how I prepped the two sides. My versions are easier to prepare than the original recipes!
Preheat oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse of the butternut squash or wash with veggie wash. Peel and cube the butternut squash into small cubes (I’d estimate mine were 1/2 inch). My mother-in-law recommends cutting off one end, standing on the flat end, and using a vegetable peeler to peel down. This is superior to my less strategic squash wrangling method, but achieves the same result.
Add cubes to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper, and a crushed rosemary. If you don’t like garlic or rosemary, simply leave one or both out. (If you omit the garlic salt I recommend adding salt.) Toss and spread on a sheet pan. I like to use nonstick foil for ease of clean up.
Wash and drain asparagus. Snap one to determine where the woody end intersects with the tender part of the stalk then cut all the stalks to that length. Add asparagus to the same bowl as the squash was prepped (no need to wash it, in my opinion). Drizzle with olive oil, then shake on salt and pepper. I also added garlic powder and a drizzle of lemon juice (the recipe says to add the lemon juice at the end, will try that next time). Toss and spread out on a sheet pan covered in nonstick foil.
After the oven is preheated, put in the squash for 20 minutes, then pop the asparagus in for 20 minutes – so the squash cooks for 40 minutes and the asparagus for 20.
Writing it out, it sounds like a lot – but really it is simple. I love “no recipe recipes”! No measuring required. Enjoy! Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the original recipes.
Want my FREE 5 day Meal Guide? Grab it here!
READY TO START my next FASTer Way New Client experience? I’d love that – go here!
Not ready yet? No problem – join my WAITLIST to stay up-to-date!
Recipe inspiration came from these recipes:
Simple Roasted Butternut Squash from Allrecipes
Oven Roasted Asparagus from Allrecipes
Not pictured: Pan-Fried Cod with Slaw
Pan-Fried Cod Notes: I didn’t make the slaw, though it sounds good and I will another time! And, I made this recipe with 3 pieces cod and 2 pieces tilapia (big family problems, using what I had) and we actually liked the tilapia better. Instead of frying in an inch of vegetable oil, I used olive oil cooking spray applied liberally. I also subbed almond milk for the milk (one child avoids dairy) and used panko bread crumbs instead of cracker crumbs.