This recipe isn’t for everyone, but it sure worked for me! It was a strange combo, but I love all the flavors individually so why not like them combined?
Cranberry – Bean Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pecans + Caraway
My breakfast didn’t hold me over as well today – maybe it was the absence of nut butter?
I had a handful of Quaker Squares at 11 and a cup’a tea –
Here’s a photo tutorial of acorn squash for RhodeyGirl 😀 *Mine was orange because it was some random species, but they are usually greenish-black.*
1) Preheat oven to 375*
2) Cut squash in half with knife:
3) Scoop out seeds with a grapefruit spoon –
4) Put about half an inch of water in a baking dish and place squash cut-side-down
5) Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until squash is tender when poked through with a knife.
TADA!
My BSI cranberry combo was:
- 1/2 cup cooked navy beans, heated
- About 1/3 cup prepared cranberry sauce, heated
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- Sprinkle of toasted chopped pecans
SO filling and so delicious! Oh, and I eat the skin. If the squash is cooked well enough, it’s just like eating potato or apple skin. Who wants to bother scooping out the flesh!? It’s not efficient. Just cut and eat!
On the side I had 2 quarters of leftover pumpkin bagel topped with PB and PB (peanut + pumpkin butters 
)
This lunch was really filling and satisfying. I hope it wasn’t too much fiber though!
I got to watch The Office on my laptop while I dined!
Guest Lunch!!!!!!!!!!!
I received this awesome lunch submission from reader Caroline yesterday. I have to say, it looks scrum-diddly-ump-tious! Who can turn down a burger for lunch!? And Chia seeds! I’m going to have to investigate these!
A veggie burger on toasted Ezekial bun with arugula, tomato and avocado
A juicy Red Delicious!
Yogurt with Ch-Ch-ch-Chia! seeds 🙂
Peace out and happy weekend 8)
VeggieGirl says
LOOOOOVE the stuffed squash dish; hooray for watching ‘The Office’; fabulous guest lunch post from Caroline!!!
Happy Friday!! 😀
gina (fitnessista) says
this looks insanely delicious 😀
you’re in!
Amisha says
HI Kath!
I’m not so keen on cranberries, but this looks good. I don’t think I have ever tried Caraway seeds before.
Knowing your love for oats and veggies, here is a recipe that is getting RAVE reviews and looks amazing for veggie bugers with oats in it from FoodTV:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/morgans-veggie-patties-recipe/index.html
For purely selfish reasons I think you should make these and review them on your website. Thanks for some awesome recipes!
Barbara says
I imagine eating the skin provides more nutrients and fiber..right? I’m going to give that a try very soon:)
Cheers
Babs
Marianne says
Hmmm…squash looks interesting. Unsure how the caraway seeds would go with it though. And I can’t believe you ate both halves for lunch…that’s so much squash!
Cat says
Mmmm do I love squash! Wow, a whole acorn squash?? I’d be stuffed! But ina very happy and satisfied way… 😀
Jenny says
Thanks for the squash tutorial, it’s a lot easier than I thought! 🙂
haya says
that must be a teeny tiny squash! i usually can only manage to eat 1/3 of an acorn, especially when it’s stuffed but when i see the picture of it in the cake pan (as long as that is a standard cake pan) and they do seem small.
i stuff my squash with brown rice and dried cranberries (cooked in with the rice) with crumbled goat cheese and sage, topped with sliced almonds and broiled until the nuts are toasty. i bet you would like it.
Caroline f says
yay! How exciting! My lunch is famous:) I just arrived at my grandparents house with a bounty of winter squash that are calling my name! Great inspiration!
-Caroline f
magpie says
Ohh acorn squash is so delicious. This looks great!
Kath says
All, I am stuffed, yes, but it was on the small side of some of the acorn squash I’ve seen. Each half was maybe the size of a softball?
Amisha ,
I bookmarked the recipe 🙂
haya ,
Sounds like a winning combo too!
Kath
Laurie says
Hi Kath,
A few random questions for you. 🙂
First, how often do you sharpened your Wusthof knife? And how do you sharpened it? I have the same Wusthof classic chef’s knife (I love it!), and it is going on a year without being sharpened at all. It still cuts fine, but I’m sure it will cut even easier if I sharpened it on a regular basis. I’m just scared of sharpened it myself, that I might cut a finger off or something.
Second question, do you love your baking pans? I really enjoy baking, when I have the time, and for my wedding I registered for those air-bake baking sheets. Well, since getting married (it’s been a few years) I’ve noticed my baked goods (specifically cookies) turn out flat and dry – not plump, moist and chewy how I usually like them. Not sure if this is the result of my baking sheets, or maybe it’s my oven???
Hil says
I had no idea that you could eat the skin of a winter squash. Intriguing. I’ll have to try it.
Krista says
The acorn squash looks divine!
Mariposa says
i’m just stopping by again to see what you did with cran sauce and beans.. interesting combo.. i may have to try that! 🙂
Beadie says
I had no clue that you could eat the skin of the acorn squash. Thanks for that tip!
JJ125 says
RE: Knife sharpening. It is a lot easier than it looks. I have a large block set of Henckels knives and they came with a sharpener and an instruction booklet…. rather than reprint the sharpening steps here I suggest buying a sharpener (looks like a long thin metal rod with a handle) and following the instructions. I promise if you follow the directions you will not cut off a finger…. this comes from probably the clumsiest person I know who cuts herself slicing butter!
You could always take your knives to a professional but that gets expensive. If you have knives of good quality you want to have forever maybe take them to a pro once every other year and do regular sharpening yourself.
zestycook says
Hey Kath,
Wow that looks amazing! Great stuff on the squash. I love cranberries…. Thanks for sharing
zesty
Julia says
Hi! I’m coming out of lurking to ask you a question; what are those chia (?) seeds in the yogurt? What is it good for?
Your lunch looks interesting; I would never have thought to top squash with cranberries, but sounds super delish!
Nicole says
I love squash, but I’ve never tried acorn squash!
Allison K says
I hate the “too much fiber” feeling. Especially if I am at work!
Kris says
I’m pretty sure chia seeds are the same or very similar to Salba. I love Salba and put it in almost everything (oatmeal, sauces –you can cook with it!–, etc)
Every serving (2 tablespoons) of Salba provides over 2,400 mg of Omega 3s, over 4,500 mg of dietary fibre, with less than 0.5 net carbohydrates per serving. Gram for gram, Salba provides six times more calcium than whole milk, three times more iron than spinach, and fifteen times more magnesium than broccoli.
Lindsay says
Hey Kath.
What does the skin taste like? Isn’t the texture weird? Also, is it really hard to digest? Do you know the nutrient distribution in it(the skin)
Sorry for so many questions! Thanks in advance!
coco says
I love this recipe! specially the orange color of this acorn squash. I never saw them in the market. Does it taste the same?
This will definitely work for me!
I’ve always wondered what if we take too much fiber. Anyone has idea on that?
Biz says
That looks good, although I don’t think anyone else in my family would eat it but me!
Good luck in the BSI contest – I am in it too!
hk says
Holy yum!! I can’t get enough of this lunch, looks amaaaazzing!! I’m sold, tomorrow it is 🙂
Rose says
Just curious why you flip the squash over to bake and put water in the pan? I do it completely opposite – and maybe that’s why they don’t always turn out!
I am still new to squash.
Miss Tiffie says
hehe i loooooooooooooooove chia seeds 😀 you should totally get into them, plus they have a nice pop when you munch on them :] you don’t even have to grind them up to get all the nutrients from them like you have to with flax :]
and i loooooove squash skin, esp acorn squash :] yum yum yum!!!
Caroline f. says
hi! The chia seeds are great! They have a nice nutty flavor and are High in omegas and fiber. I love the crunch:)
They are a little pricey still but a little goes a long way. If you let then sit they thicken and get chewy,and if you drink lotsa water you grow little chia pets in your belly;)
-Caroline
SmA033 says
Hey kath– you might’ve answered this question before, but how do i find out how many calories i should be aiming for in a day depending on my ht/wt and lifestyle??
Heather says
Weird- we just covered acorn squash in class today! Ours wasn’t nearly as pretty… just lots of butter and brown sugar. I like your version better 🙂
Julia says
oh wow, Kris, thanks for the great info! I’m gonna be on the look out for them next time I’m out shopping 🙂
Julia says
and Miss Tiffie and Caroline F!
Becky says
Lunch looked divine! I tried acron squash a few weeks ago and really liked it. I didn’t know you could eat the skin though! I will be making it again though, so next time! Here was my experiment if your interested.
http://livewelllaughoftenlovealways.blogspot.com/2008/10/acorn-squash-experiment.html
Megan says
Your lunch looks creative and delicious! Love the guest lunch too!
Alisha says
I just love your creativity in the kitchen! Thanks for sharing your food, and your life for that matter with us! I have been reading for a year now, and have gotten some many great ideas from you and other sites, I appreciate all you do!
Andrea says
volume lover’s dream!!!
Kath says
Laurie ,
The husband is the Knife Man, so I’ll tell him to read your comment.
I love my Williams Sonoma bakeware! I’m not sure how much it affects the cooking process, but it’s great for non-stick and cleaning pretty.
Lindsay ,
The squash skin tastes just like the squash – with a papery texture. I don’t know if it’s hard to digest – but my gut was feeling a little strange this afternoon! But I did have lots of beans/squash met too, so I think I just had too much fiber at one meal in general. I’m sure the peel is mostly insoluble fiber, which means it has little nutritional value and just passes through.
coco ,
Yes, it tasted just the same as a green one. But I think I liked eating it more because I like orange! I think you can get too much fiber (like I wrote above, I wasn’t that comfortable this afternoon!). Just my opinion based on what I’ve learned thus far, but I think that TOO much might compromise nutrient absorption because it pushes everything through so fast, but I think “too much” would be well over 50 grams per day – maybe even 75-100 – if anyone eats that much! It prob. depends on how frequently you eat fiber in general and how used to it you are.
Rose ,
I’m not quite sure why I do it, but I’ve always read to do that. I think it keeps the flesh from drying out.
SmA033 ,
My favorite site is http://www.Caloriesperhour.com. They have a good BMR and activity calculators that I think are more accurate than most I’ve seen based on more specific testing I have gotten from the Bod Pod, HRM and R.D. visit.
Alisha ,
Thanks so much 🙂
Kath
the husband says
Laurie,
RE: sharpening knives
I’ve actually had the worst time keeping that Wusthof knife sharp… I’m beginning to hate it. It’s made of a very hard steel, harder than most knives. The reasoning is that it keep its edge longer because it’s harder, but my complaint is that when it does lose its edge, it’s more difficult to realign. I have a 8″ Forschner chef’s knife that I GREATLY prefer over the Wusthof for a couple reasons – it has a more comfortable and gripable handle, and it’s easier to keep sharp. The pros of the Wusthof are that it’s heavier, and that it has a more dramatic curve to the blade which aids in chopping.
When we talk about keeping a knife sharp, there are two things we talk about: 1) Every time you use a knife, its sharp edge gets bent sideways. To fix this you need a honing steel to realign the sharp edge. 2) Over time, the sharp edge is dulled to a blunt roundness, and it must be resharpened by removing layers of metal until it has an edge again.
To hone my knives, I use a 12″, fine cut honing steel made by Dick. I use it after every meal, on every knife used to make the meal. I run the entire length of the knife blade down the entire length of the steel at a 22.5 degree angle on each side. Alternate each side, about 7 times per side.
To actually sharpen the knives, I use a whet stone. I was taught how to use it by the chef I worked with during college, but honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m still using it incorrectly. Same kinda thing, 22.5 degree angle, pressing hard against the stone. Most pro cook books advocate you sending your knives off once a year to be sharpened.
I think every kitchen in America need to learn how to use a honing steel. This is the best thing you could possibly do to keep your knives in good shape. Some people are scared to have sharp knives, but they are ultimately safer than a dull knife because you have to use less pressure to cut something, and therefore you have more control. The reason I have the expensive Dick’s steel is because it’s one of the few steels made from hard enough metal that it can hone the Wusthof. I have a crappy $12 steel I bought at Bed, Bath, & etc that does fine on the Forschner, but it’s just not hard enough to hone the Wusthof.
Hope that answers your question! BUY A STEEL EVERYBODY!!
Julie says
I cheat and use this to sharpen my Henckels. Works GREAT for me….
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Professional-Knife-Sharpening-Platinum/dp/B000CSK0DM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1224893503&sr=1-1
Katelyn says
Hm…I’m not sure whose lunch looks better! I want them both!
Bev says
the husband….how about a video on knife sharping ?
Katie says
You inspired me to make a similar dish for dinner tonight (which I am eating right now)! I used butternut squash, white beans and pumpkin butter! I also stirred in some sauteed kale and spinach. So good with the pumpkin butter! FYI – pumpkin butter is so easy to make!! I made mine this afternoon in 30 min from a recipe on allrecipes.com. Canned pumpkin, sugar, and some spices – simmer. I think it is even better than the Trader Joe’s kind!
runjess says
I thought that was a pumpkin at first. I was like, “Holy crap! She ate a whole pumpkin!”
Such a creative combo. I never would have thought to pair cranberries and beans.
rhodey, from caliiiii says
thanks kath!!!!!!!!
cant wait to have mine on monday night!!!!!!!!!