Most college students happily embrace the “dinner-for-breakfast” model, as long as the dinner in question is the leftover pizza sitting in an otherwise-empty fridge. However, non-conventional breakfast foods don’t have to be a last resort. Instead, you can introduce savory ingredients as a flavorful, nutritious way to break up your usual “cereal-yogurt-toast-repeat” routine.

This recipe for butternut squash and kale hash is a great way to use seasonal winter vegetables in your morning meal. The subtle pumpkin flavor of the squash brings out the kale’s natural sweetness, and makes you forget that Michelle Obama went on “The Tonight Show” just to tell us how healthy it is. The squash and kale are plenty filling and pack a considerable nutritional punch on their own. But, if you’re looking to make this into a more complete meal, it’s perfect with a fried egg. Finally, a way to eat brinner and still feel like a grownup.

Ingredients:

? of a butternut squash

? a bunch of kale

1 onion, diced small

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

? tsp cumin

3 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Servings: 2-3

Process:

1. Peel the butternut squash, cut it in half, scrape out the seeds and cut the squash into one-inch cubes. Toss the cubes in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in a 400-degree oven until fork tender, about 25-30 minutes.*

2. Set aside half of the squash for use in the hash. The rest can be eaten on its own as a side dish, or as a colorful and filling component of a winter salad.

3. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-sized saut?e pan. Add the garlic and cook over medium heat until fragrant.

4. Add in the diced onions and cook until they are translucent and slightly browned, stirring frequently.

5. Stir in the squash cubes, flattening and chopping them with your spatula until they cover most of the pan.

6. Add the cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

7. Raise the heat to medium-high, and let the squash brown in the pan (like hash browns). Stir occasionally.

8. While the squash is browning, strip the kale from its central stem and rip or chop it into bite-sized pieces, keeping in mind that it will shrink as it cooks.

9. Add the kale to the pan and stir it into the hash, cooking until the kale is slightly wilted and tender, but still bright green.

10. Adjust seasoning as need be, and serve hot.

Addendum:

*The squash-preparation step is definitely the most difficult and annoying part of the recipe, and there are a couple ways to get around it if you have extra time:

Peeling butternut squash can be frustrating, especially if your peeler isn’t exactly state-of-the-art. To avoid skinning your knuckles, you can just cut the squash in half, seed it, season it and roast it for about 45 minutes. When the squash has cooled, you can cut it up and scoop it out of the skin more easily.

Sometimes just cutting a butternut squash in half can be scary and hard. If you don’t feel comfortable hacking into a hard and unstable gourd, you can poke a few holes in the skin with your knife and roast it whole. Then split it in half, scoop out and discard the seeds and cut up the squash. This will take at least an hour, but you will be very safe.