Recipe: Savory Autumn Roasted Acorn Squash

The fall season is my absolute favorite of them all. Growing up in New England, I was blessed to be able to witness some of the most beautiful color changing leaves in the world – and I will forever treasure those memories. Here in South West Florida, it’s unseasonably hot – even for our area this year, but I can still bask in the spirit of the season through means of food and scent. I love when I pop something into the oven that smells of cinnamon. In no time at all, it fills the air with the scent of fall and maybe, just for a magical minute, I can pretend that the weather outside is cool and breezy, with crispy colored leaves strewn across the ground.

Today, in the spirit of fall, I put together one of my own recipes for you to try. This is my recipe for Savory Autumn Roasted Acorn Squash. It’s incredibly simple, and is a great side dish to a spiral ham or a roasted pork loin, or even a roasted herbed chicken.

 

Ingredients:

1 Acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed

2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp of brown sugar

A sprinkle or two of salt

1 tsp Coconut oil or butter

 

Directions:

• Rinse the Acorn squash well before slicing in half to remove any germs found on the outside. After slicing in half, remove the seeds.

• Sprinkle each half with 1 tsp of cinnamon powder. (I used a bit more because I happen to love cinnamon) Follow that up with 1 tsp of brown sugar per half. Using your fingers, rub the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture into the squash a little bit. Sprinkle each half with a little salt.

• Place about 1/2 tsp of coconut oil into each half of the squash. Also rub that into the inner portion of the squash. You can use butter if you prefer, but I pretty much use coconut oil in place of butter for everything.

• Place the squash into a foil lined baking dish, and then cover the dish with another sheet of foil.

• Bake on 350 degrees for an hour covered, and then 5-10 minutes uncovered.

After the elapsed time has passed, and your house smells fantabulous, you can remove the squash from the oven and use a spoon to remove the squash from the rind, and mash it like potatoes like I like to do. It’s got so much flavor and spice, and everyone – even the kids – love it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do in the Household McCormick!