Stuffed Acorn Squash
Two lonely acorn squash have been sitting in my fridge since well before Christmas. I have been doing a pretty good job at ignoring their existence until today when I opened the fridge and one rolled out and landed on my foot. It was pretty much begging to get eaten, so I threw it in the oven. Since it was the perfect size and shape for stuffing, I decided that would be the fate of this squash; I got some inspiration from this recipe. The stuffing was basically a combination of things in my fridge that I wanted to get rid of.
Ingredients:
1 medium acorn squash
1 cup vegetarian chicken broth or veggie broth
½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
2 carrots; chopped
½ large bell pepper (preferably red); chopped
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 cup fresh spinach
¼ cup raisins
2 ¼ teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter, I used coconut butter but any kind will do
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
1 cup vegetarian chicken broth or veggie broth
½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
2 carrots; chopped
½ large bell pepper (preferably red); chopped
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 cup fresh spinach
¼ cup raisins
2 ¼ teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter, I used coconut butter but any kind will do
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit
2. Cut squash in half and remove pulp, place squash face down on a large baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until done, squash should be tender all the way through.
3. In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, add the broth and quinoa, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer and cover. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil, add garlic, onions, carrot and bell peppers. Sautee for about 5 minutes until the carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.
5. Add garbanzo beans, raisins, spinach, cumin and salt to the mix and continue cooking for a few minutes.
6. Add the quinoa to the skillet, stir well and remove from heat.
7. Once the squash is done cooking, remove from oven. Evenly spread the butter over the entire inner squash and sprinkle with the brown sugar. I like to break the squash up a bit with a fork so that the butter and sugar are spread more evenly throughout.
7. Once the squash is done cooking, remove from oven. Evenly spread the butter over the entire inner squash and sprinkle with the brown sugar. I like to break the squash up a bit with a fork so that the butter and sugar are spread more evenly throughout.
8. Stuff each half of the squash with half of the quinoa stuffing mixture and serve.
makes 2 servings
