While summer will always be my most favorite season of the year {I live at the beach ya’ll! And I love boating!} I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m really enjoying this cooler weather, the crisp air, and the slight chill & nip you get when you open your screen door each morning. With time spent at the beach on hiatus for now, we’ve had more time for in-shore fishing, walks in the woods, football games, apple festivals, and soups & chowders… Yep, definitely a lot to savor and treasure!
When my good friend Lindsey introduced me to stuffed acorn squash last year I was all about it. The recipe she used features flavorful Italian sausage, which I loved. However, after my mother in law was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer this year, I’ve turned into a bit of a pretty big health nut. Gone are the days of making cookies twice a week and devouring sausage for breakfast. My diet now looks more like this…green smoothies for breakfast, salad ‘bowl’ creations for lunch, and meat primarily only being served for dinner. And since the idea of a stuffed acorn squash wasn’t manly enough for Jared’s dinner, I decided to turn this stuffed squash into a vegetarian delight. I’m pretty excited with the results!
Swiss chard is most definitely my favorite leafy green vegetable. It has such a unique flavor and I love the crunch that the end pieces provide. Plus, if you buy rainbow swiss chard {or grow your own, even better!} you get such beautiful variations of color. But swiss chard isn’t just around for asthetic purposes, it provides a lot of nutrients & vitamins…Vitamins A, C, & K as well as being a great source of potassium, iron, and magnesium. {And did you know, your body absorbs vitamins more easily from the foods you eat than the vitamin pills you take.}
Quinoa is of course everyone’s newest favorite ingredient and I love making a quinoa pilaf over the weekend so that I can throw a little bit of quinoa into different dishes as the week progresses. Quinoa is a great source of protein, fiber, and manganese {did you know that manganese was even a word?}. Mushrooms & the acorn squash aren’t idly standing by either. Mushrooms provide selenium, niacin, and copper {once again, this post is really teaching you some words you’ve forgotten since Chemistry 101!} and acorn squash provides many of the above nutrients as well as Omega-3’s and beta-carotene.
So with all that being said, this is a healthy & delicious meal!
Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash, roasted/cooked
- 8oz baby bella mushrooms
- 2 cups swiss chard, roughly chopped
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2 scallion/green onions, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Using a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Saute mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes until softened and browned. Add swiss chard, quinoa, onions, cranberries, and spices. Sprinkle just a bit more salt and pepper on as well. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, just until swiss chard has begun to wilt. {Take a bite to check/alter spices as needed.}
- Divide mixture evenly between the two acorn squash halves. Top each serving with nuts & cheese as desired.
- I used goat cheese yogurt as a topping.
Enjoy!
Gorgeous! This is one I have to try… NOW! Thank you, Jessica.
So glad you are going to try it out Leigh! I hope you enjoy!!