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 halvesIngredients:
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:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- 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).
- Place squash, cut-sides up, in microwaveable dish; cover loosely with parchment paper.
- Microwave on HIGH 12 to 14 min. or until squash is tender. Let stand, covered, 5 min.
- 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.
- Spoon evenly into squash shells. Place on baking sheet; top with remaining cheese.
- Bake 12 to 15 min. or until heated through and cheese is melted.
0 comments