For the longest time, I assumed anything with a hard exterior would be difficult to cook.  Not so.  In fact, squash are easy to cut open, pop in the oven, and they are a definite crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

5 acorn squash (about 1 pound each)

4 cups boiling water

7 ½ cups Corn Bread, cubed into about ½ inch squares

1 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 finely cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, pending preference

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cut and arrange corn bread on greased pan. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until corn bread is toasted. Set aside.

Decrease oven temperature to 350°.

Cut each squash in half lengthwise, and empty out the innards. Paint the squash with olive oil and place them, cut sides down, in a baking pan at least 2 inches deep. Add 2 cups of boiling water. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove the squash from pan.

While squash is in the oven, put the cranberries in 2 cups of boiling water in a bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Strain.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, sage, garlic and sauté all for about another 3 minutes.

Place the toasted corn bread, cranberries, onion mixture, broth, and remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss.

Spoon about 1 ½ cups of the mixture into each squash half. Place the squash halves in pan, cut sides up.

Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes.

 

-Arianna Schioldager