Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Quick Acorn Squash with Cranberry Sauce




I don't know about you, but I love Acorn Squash.

But it can be a hassle. It's hard to cut through evenly, scrape out seeds, and then bake for what seems like forever.

Well I got the answer. Not only that, I grew very tired of acorn squash with butter and brown sugar. So here's a variation you might like, as well as a cool way to make it easier to make Acorn Squash.

First of all, take the squash, rinse the outside, and pierce the skin two or three times with a fork. Then, microwave on high for NINE minutes......

After nine minutes, the squash is totally soft and easy to cut, be careful, it'll be hot! But it's easily sliced in half......




It should look like this. Also it's then easy to scoop out the seeds and the threads inside.












Then I add a pat of butter, after I make a few pricks of the fork into the flesh so the butter will permeate the meat......









I then add a tablespoon or so of jellied cranberry sauce on top of the butter and then dust the squash and filling with Nutmeg and Cinnamon....

Place squash into 350 degree oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes until browned to your liking. (Remember, the squash is 90% cooked already because of the microwaving)











Enjoy......!







mmmmm, Acorn Squash (In Homer Voice)

Now, for a couple of variations..... One is to chop up a Granny Smith apple and add it to the squash and then lay the cranberry sauce on top and then bake. I would increase the baking time ensure the apple is cooked, but then again, we eat apples all the time raw so I'm not sure it matters.

The OTHER thing, and my favorite, is to take a small casserole dish, add water and two pats of butter, microwave for 45 seconds, and open some Stove Top stuffing and add about 4 tablespoons of the mix to the water and butter. Stir and let it sit......

Besides, you're not gonna miss a few tablespoons when you finally make the stuffing. And now we're talking..... Acorn Squash with stuffing and cranberry sauce..... Purty good stuff....

1 comment:

Chef Tess said...

Well done! Yes I do think this is another wonderful option for the acorn squash! I adore cranberry sauce! Thanks for the suggestion Ron!