Stuffed Winter Squash, My Thanksgiving Delicacy

I’ve been thinking about what to cook for a while now and really wanted to find an easy to cook fall/winter recipe that would be a great addition on my Thanksgiving table this year. There is no doubt that squash is the most delicious vegetable during this season! It comes in many shapes, sizes, tastes and colors! I chose Acorn squash and butternut squash for this recipe. Butternut squash (especially when you pick just the perfect one!) truly is soooo “buttery”. It is a dessert in vegetable form! The deeper orange your squash is the sweeter and richer it tastes! Butternut squash is a great source of Vitamin C, A, and E. Acorn Squash is perfect for stuffing because of its shape. It looks like an oversize acorn. The taste of acorn squash is not as sweet as butternut but the two certainly complement each other and work well together in a recipe. Acorn squash is a great source of fiber and potassium.

On a side note I realized that when I come home from work I’m always so hungry. It’s usually around 7 or 8 and I’ve already been to the gym; without food or a snack since at least mid-day… cooking a fast healthy meal means I don’t sit and nosh while waiting for my meal to be ready for consumption! If you are at all like me, then my quick and easy recipes are for you! This one takes about 30 minutes, with plenty of leftovers requiring 5 minutes prep the next night! Just be careful not to eat half the bag of pecans or cranberries while cooking

This concoction has been a staple at my Thanksgiving table for the last few years and is incredibly delicious and flavorful!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup brown rice
• ½ cup dried cranberries (sweetened with fruit juice, not excess sugar)
• 1 teaspoon dried orange peel
• 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of shallots, finely chopped (or onions)
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ½ cup pecans, chopped

Directions

Prepare the rice according to package instructions. I prefer to use 2 cups of vegetable broth instead of water. I find it adds a lot of extra favor to the rice. In a medium bowl mix (microwave safe) mix the cranberries, orange peel, ½ cup of vegetable broth.

In a large saucepan, with a little oil, stir in celery, shallots and poultry seasoning. Sauté for a few minutes. Stir in cranberries, orange peel and vegetable broth and rice and cook for another few minutes.

This rice dish will serve 8 people, so depending on how much squash you are making you may have leftover rice.

Now for the squash! You can time all of this to cook at the same time. The rice and the squash usually take about 30 minutes to cook. So once you have the rice cooking prepare the squash and throw it in the oven.

You will need to cut through the top of the acorn squash, deep enough that when the top comes off you have a hollow opening with seeds. Pull out all the seeds and pulp just like when you were a kid carving a pumpkin. You can even save the seeds and toast them like pumpkin seeds. What a yummy snack!

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of olive oil throughout the inside of the squash and place on a large baking pan.

Your next step will be peeling and cubing the butternut squash. Ill admit, I cheated on this next step. Without Justin here tonight to work his magic with a knife that was the last thing I wanted to do (remember I’m all about quick and easy). So I bought the already cut squash…I know, I know, but it’s still fresh!

Place the cubed squash surrounding the acorn on the pan. Pour about a cup of vegetable broth throughout the pan so the squash will sit in it. Finally, drop a few pieces of cut butter throughout  and sprinkle some brown sugar on the squash.
Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes @ 425 degrees.

When the squash is soft (test with a fork) it’s ready to eat!

I realized once I started eating that it would have been much better to mix the squash with the rice…using a spoon, scrape out the sides of the acorn squash ( leaving a strong wall to put the stuffing in) and mix the scrapings with the rice. Then place the rice in the shell of the squash.(see below) Leave the butternut squash as a side dish and you are ready to enjoy your dinner!