by Bonny Obrien

Created on: October 31, 2008

The Fall season is now upon us, and what better time to cook up a a tasty side dish of Acorn squash. Squash is a wonderful comfort food on a cold and chilly night. Autumn is the beat time of the year for this side dish. This is a really a very simple recipe. With little prep time involved, and with just a few ingedients. Why not savor the distinctive flavor of stuffed Acorn Squash today, and take advantage of this hearty autumn harvest. This is a favorite autumn dish in our house.

Ingredients needed:

1 acorn squash, around 1 1/4 pound,you will want to use more if you are cooking for a crowd.

1/2 cup applesauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons margarine or butter, cut into small slices or chunks

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon raisins ( this is optional , but not necesary)

First Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 7x11-inch baking pan containing 1 inch water in preheating oven. Rinse the squash in hot water, as this way it will cut more easily. Then cut the squash in half lengthwise. With a big sturdy spoon, scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff;then sprinkle the squash with some salt and black pepper. Place the squash cut side down in the water in the pan. Bake about 40 minutes or until it is fork tender when pierced through the skin. Meantime stir together applesauce, brown sugar, raisins and butter. When the squash is done, pour out the water, then turn the squash cut side up; score the inside with a fork, then spoon in the applesauce filling. You are now ready to serve up this hearty tasting autumn dish. the color of this dish is pretty as well. You can pair this Stuffed Acorn Squash with just about any meat that you wish. I really like to make it with pork or ham. It is always a treat when I make this for my family, and there is never any squash leftovers. This is also an excellent side dish for Thanksgiving, and I think this dish makes the meal seem more rustic and quint. The nice thing about this dish is, if you are going to be bringing it to someone elses house, and you have it all made, it can be set aside till later, and all you have to do is pop it back into the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes to reheat the dish. Keep in mind there are many other recipes that you can make with acorn squash. Also squash is packed with healthy vitamins, and it is not fattning. So take full advantage of all the different types of squash that are on the market, while they are in season.

Learn more about this author, Bonny Obrien.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.