It's fall, and I'm kicking and screaming all the way away from summer.  I hate the cold; I hate the dying plants and falling leaves.  I hate that fall is a harbinger of the stark freezes of winter.  But what I LOVE about fall can be summed up in two words:  Halloween and food.

I ADORE Halloween - the make-up, the costumes, the decorations...  I love the idea of being someone else for a day - whether it be as a mythical creature or a whimsical character.  I've been playful and scary, and I've loved every costume.  A few that I've had:

But the best part about fall is the myriad of flavors.  Apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, cumin...I could go on forever!  But there's one thing I hadn't tried before this year:  acorn squash.  I've often seen the ribbed green orbs, but I had no idea what to do with them.  Aldi had them on sale for $0.99 last week, so I decided to live by my mantra to try anything once.....I am so glad I did!  I found my experimental recipe on kraftrecipes.com:

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Makes 6 halves



Ingredients:

3 acorn squash
2 Tbsp. butter
1-1/2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
1/2 cup chopped Pecans, toasted
1 cup Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut squash in half, and remove seeds only. Rinse seeds and lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet to dry overnight (to roast the next day).
3. Place squash, cut-sides up, in microwaveable dish; cover loosely with parchment paper.
4. Microwave on HIGH 12 to 14 min. or until squash is tender. Let stand, covered, 5 min.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop squash from shells into large bowl, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Add butter; mash squash. Add rice, nuts and half the cheese; mix well.
6. Spoon evenly into squash shells. Place on baking sheet; top with remaining cheese.
7. Bake 12 to 15 min. or until heated through and cheese is melted.