I ended up taking the smart phone plunge with the help of a big-girl paycheck and the need to know where I was going when driving around the rural outskirts of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Downloading apps became one of my new favorite pass times and one of my favorites BY FAR was the Whole Foods Recipe app. It's a fantastic resource where I can search recipes by ingredients, special dietary needs and courses, all while saving my favorites so I can pull them up anytime.
I've been finding lots of fantastic and different dishes to make and the quinoa-stuffed acorn squash is an adaptation from the Whole Foods App archives.
I'm a huge fan of any kind of squash, particularly acorn — it's naturally sweet and filling, can be paired with savory flavors and reminds me of Thanksgiving, arguably the best holiday ever created. When else can you eat like a glutton and pass out after watching football all day and still be considered a functional member of society?
Quinoa is an awesome addition to any meal plan because the grain is packed full of protein and is extremely versatile. It doesn't have a whole lot of flavor in and of itself, but absorbs whatever it's cooked with, in this case chicken/veggie stock and orange juice. In this case, it's used like a stuffing, so I used whatever veggies I had in the fridge to add in along with dried fruit, which made for the perfect mix of sweet and salty.
Although this recipe does take a good amount of time, most of it includes roasting the squash and simmering the quinoa, which allows plenty of freedom to leave the kitchen and come back only occasionally to check the food.
Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup chicken stock (or veggie stock)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 acorn squash
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
1 small onion
1 small green bell pepper (or whatever color you want, it will make the dish pretty)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or whatever dried fruit you prefer)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Toast the quinoa in a dry pot for a few minutes then add orange juice, chicken stock, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cover the mixture and simmer it for about 25 minutes.
While the quinoa is simmering, cut the acorn squash in half and place cut-side down on a baking sheet filled with about 1/2 inch of water. Bake it for about 40 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
While the squash is cooking, add the butter to a pan and sauté the onion and green pepper. You can also add in carrots and celery, I just used whatever I had in the fridge that day. Cook until tender, or about eight minutes. Add the veggies, dried fruit and maple syrup to the quinoa.
Simmer the quinoa for about 10 more minutes until the mixture holds together like sticky rice. Remove the pan from the heat and add in slivered almonds for a nice crunchy texture.
Remove the squash from the oven, dumping out the tray water. Add half of the mixture to each squash, place bake in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.
Remove and enjoy :)
