Hey! I said No!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I don’t know if its the fact that pumpkin spice is now available for my little basic heart to consume, or the fact that the weather is cooler and so incredibly pretty out, but the Morrison household is READY for fall!! The recipe we tried last night was a homage to fall and was delicious!! Acorn squash is new to me, but it was very similar to spaghetti squash in its taste and texture. My husband loved it and so did Georgia!! It was definitely a success. The cool thing about this recipe is that it can most definitely be tweaked and changed easily to fit whatever mood you’re in. We were thinking that when we make this again that we would switch out the black beans for chorizo or sausage to make it heartier.

This is a plant based recipe, and can very easily be vegan if you don’t use the cheese.

Here’s what you need:

3-4 Acorn Squash
1 Yellow Onion
1 tsp of Corriandor
1 tsp of Cuman
2-3 Cloves of Garlic (I used three)
1.5 Cups of Cooked Quinoa
1 Can of Green Chiles
1 Can of Drained Black Beans
1/4 Cup of Feta (I used a lot more because I LOVE feta)
1/4 Cup of Roasted Pepitas (I didn’t know what those were or where to find them so I used Pumpkin Seeds instead and it was perfect)
1/4 Cup of Scallions or Green Onions
2 Avocados
1/2 of a Lime (I used the other half as a garnish)

So first things first, you gotta cut those squashes in half. I also cut off a part of the bottom so that they would sit properly on the baking sheet and not rock about. You then drizzle the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

While I was waiting for my oven to reach 400 degrees I worked on my mis en place. Which is just fancy talk for setting up the rest of my ingredients. Chopping onion, mincing garlic, dicing scallions, etc. The acorn squash has to cook for 35-50 minutes, depending on the squash. I set mine for 40 minutes and it was perfect.

After the squash goes into the oven, you want to heat up your olive oil (about 2 tbls) on medium heat and then add your onions with some salt and pepper. They cook until their transparent and then you add the garlic, coriander, and cumin and stir. Then the green chiles go in and you stir. Then quinoa, black beans, pepitas, feta, and scallions.

Once all of that is combined, you take it off the heat and let it cool a little bit before adding your avocado. My filling was finished about 10 minutes before the acorn squash was done, so I just kept it in the skillet. You can always make the filling up to two days ahead of time and just throw it in a skillet to warm it up when you’re done with the squash. There’s a lot of options here!!

When the acorn squash is finished, you start to fill it with the quinoa filling and then serve!! I added some more pumpkin seeds, feta, and scallions to the top of mine to make it look pretty and because I love the feta!!

Verdict

I said in the beginning that the whole family loved this dish. The squash is subtle and has a really beautiful flavor. The filling would be phenomenal by it’s self and, like I mentioned, can be tweaked to fit your own personal preference. I’m really glad that I branched out and tried this recipe. It was a little daunting using an ingredient I hadn’t every used before; but it was so easy and so rewarding.

We are not a plant based family, we just don’t let that stop us from trying new things. I promise all of my recipes will not be plant based!! It’s just fun to break out of the cycle of chicken and veggies sometimes.

Next Week

Oh I’m so excited for next week!!! It’s the first day of FALL!!!! How fun?! SO!!! That means for the next few weeks until Thanksgiving all of my recipes will be Pumpkin based!! And I’m not just talking about Pumpkin pie or Pumpkin desserts. I’m talking about Pumpkin gnocchi (a dish I don’t even think I’ve ever eaten before) and soups!! I’m so very excited to incorporate this veggie into our lives in other ways than Pumpkin Pie.

Stay tuned for some more goodness!!

With Light and Love,

Lissie