Stuffed Acorn Squash

The hearty, rich squashes of harvest season are here! I was super excited to make my own stuffed acorn squash after seeing this one. 

Though when I got home last night and actually looked at the recipe, I realized that I just didn't have all the ingredients on hand. Therefore, not only did I make my own stuffed squash, I created my own recipe from ingredients that came in our CSA box this past Wednesday. 

Stuff Acorn Squash for Two 

1 large organic acorn squash

1 medium organic onion

2 portobello mushrooms 

2 small organic tomato

1 organic red pepper 

1 cup organic wheat berries (or brown rice) 

Canola oil 

Salt, pepper, garlic, and any spices you desire 

Parmesan cheese to top 

First, start cooking the wheat berries by rinsing them and putting them in a rice cooker with with 2 1/2 cups water. Let the rice cooker do it's thing for about 25-30 minutes - about the same time as it takes the squash to cook. Then pre-heat the oven to 425*. 

Rinse your acorn squash and then chop it in half. I had Ross help me out with this part - I am considering sterilizing his coping saw for future squash and pumpkin cooking. 

Then take a spoon and scrape out the seeds and pulp just as if you were carving a pumpkin. 

Place the halves face up on a cookie sheet, brush or spray the flesh with oil, and season with salt, pepper, garlic, etc. Bake for 30 minutes or so, until you can easily poke the squash with a fork without resistance. 

In the meantime, finely chop the onion, pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes, and saute until soft. I waited to add the tomatoes until right at the end because they can make it too soggy to get that nice charring effect that I love on peppers and onions. When the wheat berries are done, add them into the mix in the frying pan.

When the squash is ready, spoon your stuffing into the cavity of the quash.

Top with some cheese and broil for 2-3 minutes. 

So delicious! This is a definite repeat recipe - we want to experiment with other ingredients as well, like chicken sausage, apples, and bread (more like a stuffing).  This was a big squash and there was plenty leftover over - when we were full we scraped out the remaining flesh and mixed it with the remaining stuffing in a Pyrex bowl to save for lunch today! 

Today is pretty low-key; we went to church and I sang with my choir, we stopped by Trader Joe's for some groceries, and now I'm working on some stuff for school and Ross is watching football in-between loads of laundry. 

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!