January 9, 2011

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Made some tasty dinner last night. (no pictures, too busy eating…) I’d seen stuffed acorn squash on a few restaurant menus, and, since it’s a favorite of mine, I thought I’d try to make one at home. I often eat a meal of acorn squash as a side for brats or sausage, so this seemed like a great add-in for the stuffing.

Ingredients:

  • 1 acorn squash (well, really, there’s probably enough stuffing for 2 small acorn squash, to serve 4—might want to add another brat and apple to extend the mixture—but we liked having the stuffing mixture as a leftover, too… it’s just as tasty when not stuffing a squash!)
  • 1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice (with seasoning)
  • 2 brats, chopped (seemed about 1 cup)
  • 1 small apple, diced (it seemed like about a half a cup)
  • Pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice (to taste)
  • Brown sugar (to taste)

Method:

  1. Bake acorn squash, Here’s what I do:
    1. Slice acorn squash in half (you’ll need a hardy knife) and de-seed with a spoon
    2. Place half-side down in glass dish
    3. Cook 45 minutes in 375 degree oven
    4. Flip over, add butter and any seasoning (for this recipe, I tossed in some nutmeg and cinnamon. If I’m just eating squash, I toss in brown sugar for tastiness). I find tongs to be a great tool to use for handling the hot acorn squash.
    5. Cook another 15 minutes
  2. 20 minutes before acorn squash is done, put rice on to cook (or, if you’re me, wait longer … but it’s okay, the acorn squash can sit in the turned-off oven for a bit, waiting)
  3. Toss chopped brats in (medium, medium-high heat) pan and cook for a bit. When outsides are cooked, add apples. Cook a bit. Add pepper, nutmeg, and allspice to taste (I did a very light dusting of nutmeg and allspice so as to not overpower the dish)
  4. Cook until nicely browned. Lower heat and toss in a bit of brown sugar for sweetness. Keep warm while other stuff cooks.
  5. Once rice is done, add in the brat/apple mixture and stir.
  6. Place cooked acorn squash in bowls and spoon mixture into center cavity, mounding it up a bit.
  7. Serve and eat deliciousness!

I found the acorn squash half with stuffing enough to eat for me (boy did too) for dinner!