Eggnog Roasted Acorn Squash

Okay. I know what you're thinking. You're all like, "Katie, you crazy girl! Eggnog with squash?"

Hear me out...

First of all, acorn squash is utterly scrumptious with sweet companions like maple syrup and brown sugar. No one can dispute that. Sugar + squash = heaven. And second, eggnog and these acornies go together like a dream. Like a holiday-filled, sugar-plum (or squash) dancing dream. 

I got this magical idea from a recipe I saw where Martha Stewart had roasted acorn squash with a bit of coconut milk in the center. So I thought to myself, forget coconut milk, I'm going to use eggnog! I think I shall, henceforth, always replace coconut milk with eggnog. 

This is a delicious, versatile, and easy way to use up those neglected squash you have lying about. Serve with dinner, or as dessert! With creamy eggnog and caramelized brown sugar, these thyme scented squash are sure to be a hit!

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. ”

— Leo Tolstoy

If you're cool like me, you can halve the squash the opposite of normal people (I have no idea why I ended up doing this), and you'll get pretty little squash stars. Cool!

Eggnog Roasted Acorn Squash

A delicious, versatile and easy way to use up extra squash. Serve with dinner, or as dessert! With creamy eggnog and caramelized brown sugar, these thyme scented squash are sure to be a hit!

Yield: 4 squash halves

Ingredients

• 2 whole acorn squash, halved
• ½ cup vegan eggnog
• sprinkle of kosher salt
• sprinkle of ground black pepper
• dash of dried thyme
• sprinkle of brown sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and wash the acorn squash.
2. Cut the two squash in half. Be careful if you decide to slice a little off the bottom to stabilize the squash, you don’t want to go all the way though it or the eggnog will leak out.
3. Place on a baking sheet and fill each half with 2 Tbsp. of eggnog. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme to taste.
4. Around the rim of the squash halves, sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar, which will caramelize in the oven.
5. Bake at 375 F for about 50-60 minutes, until fork tender.

Dutch Word of The Day

Thanks --> bedankt (beh-donkt)

Good Deed of The Day

Read this article from the Poughkeepsie Journal on why going vegan might be the best New Year's resolution. Ever. Then share it with your friends and family!

Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

Carnival squash. Have you heard of it? I had never! It came to me on a chilly, leafless and blustery day, neatly packed in my CSA box. Speckled, mostly green and yellow, with odd pools of vibrant orange marked it's skin. Carnival squash is probably most akin to acorn squash, but delightfully unique in its own way. 

This little guy is lovingly filled with only the most scrumptious of autumn goodies. Honeycrisp apples, earthy sage, crunchy pepitas, silky red chard, Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Grain-Meat Sausage, and pumpkin. Oh yes, we are now filling winter squash with pureed pumpkin.

This is how the pros do it. 

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”

— Anne Frank

You guys are going to love this squash! This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

This is an easy and impressive festive carnival squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 carnival or acorn squash, halved
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground sage
• 1 small apple, diced
• 1 Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Grain-Meat Sausage link, diced.
• 4 large kale or swiss chard leaves and stems, chopped
• ½ 15 oz. canned pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. pepitas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place face down on a baking sheet coated with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large rimmed frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium low. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Now, stir in the salt, pepper, and sage. Add the apple, sausage, and kale. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted.
4. Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well to combine. Stir occasionally while over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. The apples should be softened but not cooked through. Remove from heat to rest, until the squash is done baking.
5. When squash is done, keep the oven on, and divide the stuffing evenly between each squash half filling the center. Place back in the oven for about 3 minutes to heat through. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 00:45
Total time: 00:50
Yield: 2 servings

More Easy Squash Recipes

Smoked Gouda and Butternut Pasta

Eggnog Roasted Acorn Squash

Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

Cheesy Stuffed Autumn Delicata Squash

Dutch Word of The Day

Stuffed --> gevuld (who-feld)

Good Deed of The Day

Milk. It does the body bad. Real bad. A new study from the British Medicine Journal "...found that those who drank three glasses of milk daily were more likely to die of heart disease and cancer. For the women, milk drinkers had a significant better chance of suffering a hip fracture." Yikes. Maybe it's time to switch to one of the other thousand non-dairy options, yea?

Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

This soup is pure love. Love of squash. Love of Fall. Love of whatever you like.

I tend to favor acorn squash for smooth soups over butternut squash for a couple of reasons. One; butternuts always tries to kill me when I'm trying to crack them open and two; acorn squash has a more developed flavor when roasted compared to butternut. Did I mention that the little green guys are a lot easier to work with?

Poor little acorn squashes all forlorn and neglected in favor of trendy butternut or snazzy spaghetti squash. Not 'round these parts. This soup delicately showcases acorn squash in all it's glowing glory. Todd and I ate the entire pot in one night, that is how amazing this soup is. I plan to make it for thanksgiving too, which is a coveted recipe spot!

“I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

A perfectly creamy, fall soup that’s incredibly delicious. It’s quite easy to prepare and mostly hands-off. I prefer my soups probably thicker than most, but this can be thinned easily with a bit of additional water.

print recipe

Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

by Katie @ Produce On Parade October-6-2014

A perfectly creamy, fall soup that’s incredibly delicious. It’s quite easy to prepare and mostly hands-off. A delight for Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squashes (about 3-4 lbs. total)
• 1 Tbsp. vegan butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• dash of kosher salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg

Instructions

Microwave both whole squashes on high for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then slice in half lengthwise. Preheat oven to 450 F and coat a baking sheet with a nonstick cooking spray. Scoop out the seeds from the squashes and discard. Place the four squash halves face-side down on the sheet and cover loosely with aluminium foil. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes, until very tender.Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium low. Add the diced onion and sauté until fragrant, about 5-8 minutes. Sprinkle with a dash of kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add the fresh herbs and sauté for a few additional minutes. Now, add in the remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil. Carefully scoop out the flesh from the cooked squash and allow to lightly boil for about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and transfer the soup to a blender. Blend on high, allowing steam to escape the lid, until smooth. Add additional water as needed to thicken to desired consistency. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 3

Dutch Word of The Day

Soup --> Soep  (pronounced the same actually)

Good Deed of The Day

Doctors from Government General Hospital announced at a scientific conference in Vancouver, Canada that they have recently uncovered, "when meat or fish is cooked directly over fire, it gets covered with cancer-causing carcinogens, making it more dangerous than even smoking or consumption of alcohol, surgical gastroenterologist Dr S M Chandramohan said". Yikes! Just one more reason to steer clear of meat, yo. Read more here. Que "The More You Know" chime...