Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed Shells

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed Shells (slightly adapted from Naturally Ella, Servings: 4, Total Time: 45 minutes)

Ingredients

·         ½ box lasagna noodles

·         ½ Tbsp. olive oil

·         ¼ cup onion, finely diced

·         2 cups pureed acorn squash (from 1 roasted acorn squash)

·         ¼ cup part-skim ricotta cheese

·         ¼ cup shredded Parmesan

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         2 Tbsp. margarine

·         1 tsp. dried rosemary (divided in half)

Instructions

1.       To roast acorn squash, cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast at 400˚ until squash is tender (about 30 minutes.) Remove and let cool. Scoop out the insides and set aside.  After the squash is cooked, turn oven down to 350˚.

2.       While the squash is baking, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and let cool.

3.       In a bowl, stir together the squash, ricotta and Parmesan.

4.       In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions to pan and cook until they are translucent and cooked through. Stir in the squash mixture and cook over low heat until warm.

5.       In a small skillet, heat butter and rosemary over low heat until ready to serve. Once everything is ready, spoon some squash mixture onto each of the lasagna noodle and roll up.   Place in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Once all the mixture is used, drizzle the butter over shells.

6.       Place dish in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until lasagna rolls are heated through.  Serve hot.

I made some minor changes to the original dish because I had lasagna noodles and no shells – alas, lasagna roll ups!  Everything else was pretty much the same as the original (except using dried instead of fresh rosemary and margarine in place of butter).  I had a little trouble with the lasagna noodles and ended up with some think pieces from rips, but that’s alright.  If I was perfect, I would be working in a restaurant, not trying my efforts out as a home cook.

I have never had acorn squash before, but I like it!  When it’s baked, it is soft and creamy and has a bit of a sweet taste.  Maybe similar to the taste of spaghetti squash as opposed to butternut squash.  Anyway, I found this dish a little bland and would probably add some more butter sauce or more cheese.  My lasagna noodles got really tough when I reheated the dish, but the acorn squash portion was still good.  I say, give it a try!

White Bean and Cumin Chili

White Bean and Cumin Chili (slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 4, Total Time: 9-10 hours)

Ingredients

·         1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 Tbsp. cooking oil

·         2 14 ½ oz. can tomatoes, undrained, cut up

·         1 12 oz. can beer or nonalcoholic beer

·         1 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

·         1 Tbsp. cumin

·         1 tsp. sugar

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         2 19 oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained

·         1 ½ cups coarsely chopped, seeded, and peeled acorn squash (about 12 ounces)

Directions

1.      In a 3 ½- or 4-quart slow cooker combine onion, garlic, tomatoes, beer, chipotle pepper, cumin, sugar, and salt. Stir in beans and squash.

2.      Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-1/2 to 5 hours.

I’ll start off by saying that I just realized I made a mistake on this recipe – I only added 1 can of tomatoes.  Oops!  Still worked, though.  It even ended up being about 6 servings instead of 4!  This dish was not spicy enough for my liking, so I added some additional adobo sauce and pepper to my serving – that got it right.  My husband was OK with the taste and texture, but I think that he prefers a more traditional chili.  Everything was really creamy in this meal and it was pretty filling.  One note, I used Sam Adams Winter Ale for the beer.  I know that the beer will affect the taste, so pick a beer that you like!  Even though my husband wasn’t a huge fan of this, I will make it again – a great way to add some additional vegetables to a vegetarian diet!