Maple Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Dinner last night was SO good. My roommate Mandi had guests coming over to our house so she thought she'd invite me to stay for dinner as well. And then I volunteered to make a salad. This is my favorite salad for fall. I used acorn squash instead of a pumpkin though. And agave because I didn't have any maple syrup...but I would have used maple syrup if I had some. Also, we had two surprise guests so I bulked up the arugula with some spinach. It's better with just arugula.

What I liked about dinner was that half of it was prepackaged (Buitoni mushroom ravioli with store-bought pesto) but the rest of it was homemade. It took a lot of the pressure off. The salad takes some time, but it's worth it.

1 sugar pumpkin, cut into 1 inch chunks

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

salt and pepper

Juice of one lime

5 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Arugula

1/4 cup pepitas

6 oz feta cheese

Toss the pumpkin with oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Toss with maple syrup and roast another 10 minutes so you can get a nice glaze.

Make the dressing and set aside. Top arugula with pumpkin, feta and pepitas. Toss with dressing just before serving.