Tasty Tuesday - Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Quinoa

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Quinoa

Can I just say YUM?!!  This turned out sooo good!  I saw some good looking acorn squash at the store the other day and decided to buy them, not really knowing what I was going to do with them.  I found lots of recipes online for stuffing squash with different quinoa recipes, but ultimately this one won out.  I adapted it from a recipe I found on Whole Foods [HERE] and it is DELICIOUS and made my house smell so good!  My boys gobbled this up saying, "This is really yummy mommy!"  So, not only is it good, it is pretty easy to make too!  I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
Serves 4
Time: About 1 hr. (most of which is just cooking time)
*Note: This makes a lot of "stuffing."  We stuffed 2 acorn squash (4 halves) and still had a lot of stuffing left over.  So, you could decrease the ingredients to have less stuffing, use 3 acorn squash, OR, like I will be doing, eat the left over stuffing the next day for lunch!  It is good all by itself!  Yum!

I forgot to take a picture of the acorn squash before putting them in the oven! 

*  1C quinoa *Note: I buy Quinoa that has been pre-rinsed, but if you don't have that, you need to rinse the quinoa in warm water before cooking it to remove the natural saponin coating off of it.  
*  1 1/2C orange juice
*  1 1/2C water
*  1tsp. cinnamon
*  1/2tsp. allspice
*  1/4tsp. nutmeg
*  1/2tsp. salt
*  1/2tsp. pepper
*  2 acorn squash  
*  1Tbl. olive oil
*  1 medium onion, diced
*  1 carrot, diced
*  1 celery rib, diced
*  1 apple, peeled and diced
*  1/2C dried cranberried
*  2Tbl. maple syrup

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare/cut all ingredients.
2.  Cut each acorn squash in half and place cut-side down in a baking dish filled with 1/2" of water.  Bake for 40 minutes.  When it is done, remove from oven, turn cut-side up, and set aside.

3.  While the squash bakes, toast quinoa in a dry, pot for 3 minutes.
4.  Add the OJ, water, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
5.  Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

6.  While the quinoa simmers, heat 1Tbl. olive oil over medium heat in a skillet.
7.  Saute the onion, carrot, celery, and apple for 8-10 minutes.
8.  Add the sauteed mixture to the simmering quinoa, along with the cranberries and maple syrup.
9.  Simmer for 10 more minutes, or until the quinoa is fully cooked and fluffy.
10.  Remove from heat.

11.  Turn the squash cut-side up and fill each half with the quinoa stuffing.
12.  Return to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
13.  Enjoy!  Yum!

*Note:  Here is how much stuffing I had left over after stuffing the acorn squash.

It's quite a bit.  BUT, it is so good on its own, that I'm planning on eating it for lunch today!  Yum!