I’m sure I'm not the only person out there whose children start talking about what they want to be for next year’s Halloween two months after Halloween just happened. It's a big obsession in our house. I can't count the number of dinner conversations over the last year that have revolved around what my children want to dress up as at that given moment, and I can't say I mind it one bit. I've always been a big fan of the festivities that bring family and friends together on October 31st, so it's endearing to me that now my children love this day equally as much as I do and we all get to be excited for it together.
I'd like to pretend that my love for this Halloween is rooted in my appreciation for the creative process of deciding what to dress up as, and then executing the design and completion of a homemade costume. I’ve always enthusiastically embraced that challenge and had a lot of fun with it. But, if I'm being completely honest, I'd have to admit that like so many generations before me, I was always in it for the candy! Still to this day I have a hard time not sifting through my children's candy bucket and organizing it all just like I did so many years ago. I'd return home from a long night of trick or treating, and immediately dump out my pillowcase filled with pounds of candy and just sort like the wild child I was. The struggle was, and is, real. Only now, I've realized that my obsession with Halloween and Halloween candy has segued into an obsession with what I am going to make and eat on Halloween evening, as the trick or treaters come and go and friends and family linger at the house.
For some years now, my favorite appetizer to serve on or around Halloween has been these butternut squash quesadillas. They're fun, they're fall, they're delicious, and unexpected. I wrote about their origin a while back on the blog, but I've since made a few changes to the recipe and really love the this version even more so I wanted to share it again.
Whether you make these for lunch, dinner, or on Halloween night, they're sure to please your crowd (however big or small), they're quesadillas after all...and who doesn't love a good quesadilla? The addition of butternut squash not only makes these healthier, it makes them seasonally appropriate and is still mild enough to not be off putting to even the pickiest eaters, while remaining interesting to the most refined palates. Packed with flavor, and nutrition, they're the perfect food to balance all those pieces of candy you sneak from your kids. Shhh…...
