Today the weather was almost fall-like with lows in the 50’s and a high of only 71. So I thought I’d prepare one of my favorite fall dishes of stuffed acorn squash. I call it a fall dish only because acorn squash is considered a winter squash, but it’s delicious year-round. Also, keep in mind that I’m stuffing with the vegetables I have on hand in my garden right now. I’ve done this with a ton of different vegetables, so just do whatever you’ve got on hand! It’s easy to throw leftover chicken into this dish or a can of drained black beans. Next time I’ll grab some sweet potato and Brussels sprouts from the store to throw in there too! 

Ingredients: 

• Acorn squash halved and de-seeded
• Olive oil
• Seasonings
• 1/2 sweet onion finely chopped
• Small bag of frozen vegetables (I used a 12 oz bag of corn/green beans/carrot mix)
• Garlic clove chopped 
• 1 squash chopped
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 1 jalapeño chopped
• 1 T butter
• 1 c quinoa

1. First, sharpen your chef’s knife to cut this puppy open.

  
2. Now you’re going to remove the seeds. I like to use a grapefruit spoon, but a regular spoon works just fine too. 

   
 

3. Now drizzle with olive oil and season with your favorite all-purpose sort of seasoning. I love to do Tony’s, but of course you could just do salt and pepper too. 

  
4. Now pop into a 375 degree F oven and let’s get started on your veggies. These will cook for an hour.

  
  
5. Once you’ve got all your veggies chopped that you want in there, put them in your pot and drizzle them with olive oil and season liberally with either your all-purpose seasoning or salt and pepper. Also, throw a tablespoon or so of butter in there just ’cause it’s delicious. 

  
6. I like to cook these on medium heat for about 10 minutes or so just to give them a head start. 

  
7. Now add 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water to this and bring to a boil for a minute, then turn to simmer and put the lid on (exactly like you cook most rice). 

  
8. After 20 minutes or so, your quinoa is cooked! If you still have some liquid in there you’d like to cook off (depending on how much water your veggies released), just cook it a few more minutes. 

  
9. Would you look at the time? The acorn squash is done in perfect time for the stuffing!

  
10. Eat like a loaded baked potato with a yummy glass of red wine 😊🍷