One of my favorite things to do (ok, this shows you how OBSESSED I am with food and healthy preparation of it) is to walk through the deli case of Whole Foods or my favorite prepared food store DISHES in Grand Central Market in NYC. I'll taste everything to try to get a sense of what is in it that may not be listed on the ingredient card and how fresh the dish is. Often times, I will thank them for the sample and walk away thinking, "Hmph. I can make that." And I can also be sure it hasn't been subject to countless cycles of freezing and thawing to lengthen its 'shelf life'. Also, I always feel as if there is WAY too much salt added to a lot of the dishes, and then after consuming, wonder why I am so dehydrated the next morning. 
One of my favorites at DISHES is a grain salad made with lentils, and my favorite fall/winter vegetable, butternut squash. It was so tasty I had it for lunch and dinner last night. However, when I looked in my cabinet I realized I already had almost everything to make the dish myself. Red quinoa, onions, and lentils (Yes, I used canned lentils. While there are certain times you couldn't PAY me to eat something out of a can, beans I'm o.k. with. I mean, seriously. . . who wants to sit around and wait for their beans to soak?) I was just missing the butternut squash, which I picked up on my way home last night. 
When I returned from teaching today I was pretty famished and knew my squash would take a while to bake. I fought the temptation to hit the computer right away (ok, I did hit the computer right away, but didn't stay there) and forced myself to cook a healthy lunch which I knew would offer an abundant amount of leftovers. So I got in there and started chopping. 
Plain and simple, cutting butternut squash is a pain in my ass. Cutting any hard, awkward shaped root vegetable is never pleasant, but after a few chops and cuts, I began to get in the swing of things and it became a very ZEN task. I had already made the quinoa and lentils (which consisted of pulling out the can opener, draining them and adding them to the lentils. WHEW! Tough stuff) the day before so that was ready to go. Plus, I forgot I had almost an entire bucket of spinach in the fridge. BONUS! The cutting is the most time consuming part so once you finish that your free and clear. Here's how it goes:

Warm Winter Salad:

1 Cup Quinoa 
1 Butternut Squash 
1-2 Sweet White Onions (I love me some onions so I use two. If you don't, use one.)
1/2 Cup Lentils (I like green in this recipe, and yes, canned is fine!)
Shitload of spinach (you know how that stuff cooks down!)
Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to package (it's easy and should only take about 20 minutes). Add lentils and mix. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and salt to taste.  This can be made ahead of time and is always a tasty little side dish all on its own. 
Preheat oven to 400*
Cut butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds and pulp. Lay each side flat on cutting board and cut in 1/2 again. Then cut each quarter into cubes and slice rind off. Place in large mixing bowl. Cut onion (s) in half. Then quarters, and then eighths until you have nice sized onion slices. Add to mixing bowl. Add 3 tbsp. olive oil and salt and pepper and toss to coat vegetables. I like to do this with my hands b/c after you are through you can rinse your hands under warm water and you have an EXCELLENT salt scrub leaving your skin silky smooth!)
Dump onion and squash mixture into baking dish or pan (I actually needed two of them to fit all of it!)
Bake at 400* for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking for done-ness.
While the squash and onions are cooking, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a pan and lightly saute spinach. Do not overcook! You can also steam the spinach if you prefer. Add to quinoa and lentil.
Once the squash and onion mix is done, remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. 
Add as much of the butternut squash and onions as you like and VOILA!!!

How beautiful! (with butternut squash to spare!)
This is a great side dish for many, or be used as a main dish for you vegetarians. Hell, I ate this whole bowl for lunch just now as I was typing this. MMMMM . . . 

Now, listen up! You don't have to follow the exact amounts for this recipe. Hell, I don't care if you hate onions and avoid them all together. (I happen to love them. As a matter of fact it's safe to say I downed an entire onion in this one serving, as I picked all of them out to eat.) Or you just ran out of spinach. Or you'd rather die than cut up and cook a squash. The grain (again, you can use any grain. Wheatberries make a nice hearty fall salad!) is the staple of this dish, so experiment! Actually, try taking the grain out and use only the spinach, lentils, squash and onions. And in any amounts you want. I had a butt load of butternut squash left over that I plan to eat, mmmm, in five minutes or so. GO HOG WILD. And then write to me and tell me how it went. 
I think I'm in love with my new recipe. I'd marry it if I could.