Feliz navidad everyone! Here is a yummy, seasonal side dish that has a little southwest spin on it! I got this recipe from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart, which is such a wonderful magazine, filled with fast, creative ideas! It’d filled with only recipes, and a subscription is only around 12 dollars. Plus it’s filled with different short cuts that are extremely helpful.

The thing I love about Christmas dinner vs. Thanksgiving is you can get a little more creative with it because there are so many different cultures and regions that celebrate the holiday. You can choose Mexican, Italian, Asian or even a vegetarian meal! So here is an idea for a great, flavorful side dish.

The combination of chili powder with the lime juice and honey makes such a tasty vinaigrette to top the greens and squash. Butternut squash, because of its orange color, is full of vitamins and minerals that are great for you skin, just like with pumpkin and acorn squash, which I’ve mentioned before!

Another ingredient I chose to use was raw sunflower seeds because they are loaded with good fats and protein, and add a nice crunch to the dish. The color the chili powder gives to the squash is sure to be impressive, and the cotija cheese does make a difference! If you can’t find cotija, then feta or Parmesan works also.

I’m lucky this year because I get to have two Christmas dinners; one on Cape Cod with my boyfriend and his family and one back home in Colorado (yay)! Make sure to come back Monday to check out the recipes we used for dinner number one!

Recipe adopted from Martha Stewart