Monday, October 18, 2010

Acorn Squash "Boats"

Several weeks ago Katie posted these beautiful zucchini boats, which inspired me to do some "boating" of my own, but instead with the acorn squash from our garden.

I popped them in the oven (whole, not cut in half yet) for 30 minutes at about 350 degrees. Next I cut them in half, laid them seed side facing down, and then placed them back in the oven for about 15 minutes.


Next I flipped them over, scrapped out all of the seeds, and placed about 2 tsp of Smart Balance margarine and ~1 tsp Splenda brown sugar in the boats.



Next I added ~1/4 cup brown rice (brown rice is a whole grain, wahoo!).



Then I added ~1/4 cup black beans (beans are packed with soluble fiber, which is a great way to lower cholesterol, and they also have many disease-fighting plant nutrients).



Next I added ~1/4 cup lean ground beef, which had been seasoned with cumin and cinnamon. By the way, I bought grass-fed beef today at the store. I can't wait to use it. I've never tried it before! It's supposed to have a higher content of omega-3 fats.



Next I added ~2 T of FULL FAT shredded cheese and some spinach, then placed them under the broiler for about 2 minutes.



Ok, so I need some photography lessons. This picture doesn't make my mouth water, but these acorn boats were fabulous. Please, do yourself a favor, and make some today (large acorn squash work best)!



Question: Have you ever gone "boating" in your kitchen? What did you use as your boat?

18 comments :

  1. Haha I love your question -- you know that I go boating in my kitchen! I really need to be more adventurous with different kinds of squashes though!! Those look fantastic!

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  2. I went boating in my kitchen just this past weekend, as a matter of fact! :-)

    Now I just need a REAL boat, ha!

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  3. Funny because I have some squash from my garden back home that I've been wanting to stuff now for awhile. I think I might do some kind of quinoa concoction in my "boat."

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  4. I was totally going to do something similar tomorrow night, but I went grocery shopping over the weekend and all the acorn squashes were gone. From an RD standpoint, I am really thrilled, but from my own dinner standpoint I am totally bummed. Ryan joked I should not have hyped up the squash on my radio interview the other week. I bought a pumpkin looking thing instead. Not a pumpkin apparently, but looks like it. It is small, so I will stuff that. Yours looks awesome BTW.

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  5. oh that looks delicious- what a great idea!

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  6. i made squash boats w/ quinoa filling. my mom and i loved them, but my dad was not a fan, haha.

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  7. oh wow, i admire anyone with a green tumb. i tried growing parsley on my balcony once. (yeah...that was an interesting experiment. :p) can't think of any time i've gone "boating" either. haha...guess i'm not the domestic goddess. :)

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  8. YUM! I have an acorn squash in my fruit basket, too! I love making boats with acorn squash...usually in the form of brown sugar and pecans with a bit of butter, ha! But savory sounds just as good! Excited for this weekend!!! :)

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  9. Oh definitely. I like acorn and kabocha squashes best for "boating," because I can eat the skin too. :) I'm pretty obsessed with winter squash right now, actually! Jealous of your garden.

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  10. Oh this looks great! i recently made southwestern style acorn squash and it was AMAZING! Love boating! ;)

    ps. have a post up about picky eaters...would love your thoughts!

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  11. My favourite "boat" is hollowed out bell peppers!! Love your acron squash, though...

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  12. Your acorn squash is beautiful! I love all the great produce you guys have been growing!

    Love your boats! Brown rice and black beans are a great flavor combo (and good for you).

    I used to fill big zucchini with brown rice, mushrooms, ground beef or turkey, etc. and bake them. I had totally forgotten about the dish. Thanks for the reminder! ;)

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  13. I haven't been boating in quite some time. =)

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  14. Sadly, I've never been boating in the kitchen unless stuffed bell peppers count as boating!

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  15. i have not been boating in a very long time. i think the last time i went "boating" was stuffed peppers! but these acorns are packed to the MAXIMUS with glorious eats! i bet that cheesyness got all melted to gloriousness

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  16. Sooooo gorgeous! How awesome that you grew these beautiful squash in your garden, too!! I've been in the mood for a new acorn squash recipe recently too - looking forward to trying your awesome creation! Thank you for the great recipe!

    We "boat" quite frequently with eggplant, peppers, and winter squash... Love how you phrased "boating!" :-)

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  17. We had stuffed acorn squash last night too with quinoa and sauteed vegges ... yum, yum!!!

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