So now it's time for round 2: Squash!
I love squash. Just about every kind. But the one that reminds me most of fall (and childhood) is acorn squash.
Growing up, we used to have halved acorn squash filled with butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and sausage ALL the time in the fall. Healthy right? Well, regardless of its health benefits, this is definitely one of my favorite things. It is such a perfect fall food AND it is super easy to make. Legitimately, the hardest part is cutting the squash in half. From there, you add about a Tbs. of butter, a little bit of brown sugar and about a teaspoon or two of maple syrup. Add the (pre-cooked) sausage, bake for about 40 minutes and voila! you have a delicious fall meal.
So I have always loved acorn squash, but have not really been aware of its versatility until this year. Acorn squash actually has a lot of nutritional value - with very low calories from fat, very high fiber and plenty of vitamins and nutrients - and unless you fill it with butter, sugar and syrup (YUM!) it makes for a very healthy and filling meal. So I decided to search for a scrumptious, healthy acorn squash recipe.
Enter the quinoa stuffed acorn squash.
I stumbled across this recipe on my friends facebook page and was instantly in love. Quinoa AND acorn squash?? Sign me up. Needless to say, I made my own version of the recipe that night.
It involved a quinoa/vegetable mix very similar to a recipe I made a few weeks back that basically consists of quinoa, whatever vegetables you like (this recipe included mostly stock vegetables, but I mixed it up with a little asparagus and tomatoes), some spices and what I thought was most interesting - walnuts. You cook the quinoa and the vegetables separately - sauteeing the veggies in a little bit of olive oil and your spices (mine were garlic, crushed red pepper, oregano and a little bit of salt) and then mix in the quinoa and walnuts. The walnuts not only add crunch, but also a nice nutty flavor to the quinoa which if you just take a bite of the quinoa is a little strange but is an ideal pair for the sweetness of the acorn squash.
This dish is not only delicious, but visually appealing as well. A great dish to serve if you are trying to impress guests as it is not very difficult, doesn't take too long, and looks and tastes great! You also get two servings per squash! This can be used as a full meal as well - but would leave the plate looking empty if you were entertaining. Check out my pics of this tasty treat!
Hope everyone and their stomach's are ready for a foodie's favorite holiday!
Happy eating :)
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