Acorn Squash To Kick Off Fall!
Hello again, my friends!
We’re officially in September! Are you feeling the sudden inspiration for that Fall comfort? While I am not racing for hot chocolate or sweaters (it’s still pretty warm here), I am loving the availability of squash! This just means that we’ll be trying plenty of comforting Fall recipes, so I hope you’re ready for a delicious season.
To help kick off my favorite season for food, we will let the acorn squash be the star this week!
This week we are checking out a recipe for–wait for it–a Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Brown Sugar Roasted Acorn Squash…with Brown Butter Breadcrumbs. Oh yeah, it’s a mouthful just reading it, but well worth it!
This recipe is by Half-Baked Harvest, and you can find the recipe right -> here!
Prepping The Acorn Squash For Roasting
In comparison to spaghetti squash, acorn squash is much easier to cut open, so prepping this is quite a breeze! Once the seeds are scooped out, you may want to scoop out a little extra since each half will be stuffed with the chipotle chicken filling. That’s only if you don’t have a lot of room in each half for the filling.
I would like to make a quick note about the brown sugar coating on the squash. The recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of brown sugar. Now, keep in mind that the recipe is for 2 whole acorn squash instead of the 1 I used, however, I still did not use even half of the brown sugar. When prepping this, I simply sprinkled enough brown sugar to coat the squash. I didn’t want a thick layer for a few reasons:
- I didn’t want the brown sugar to burn too quickly in the oven
- I didn’t want the squash too sweet despite the filling being more savory
So honestly, to each their own. If you want to follow the recipe exactly, then your squash will definitely be much sweeter. I found that just a light sprinkle is just enough. The end result still has that sweetness you’re looking for.
The Filling For The Acorn Squash
The filling for the acorn squash is a delicious combination of chicken, rice (or couscous), spinach, spices, chipotle peppers, and more! Just like the brown sugar on the acorn squash, this filling does call for 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. There is a note on the recipe card to only add as much as the heat you can handle. I’ve tried plenty of recipes that called for a significant amount of spice and it only ended up being overwhelming and no longer enjoyable.
I ended up using one chopped chipotle in adobo and it was just the right amount of spice–especially when combined with the spices already included in the filling.
Again, as one cook to another, start off with one and taste along the way. There’s no need to abuse your tastebuds if you can control the level of spice.
The Sweet And Spicy–Does It Actually Work?
This recipe for stuffed acorn squash really does the trick when you’re looking for something that is loaded with flavor but also combined with that comforting Fall feeling. I think that the level of spice was right where it was meant to be, just as the sweetness was. I think with the small adjustments to the recipe, this ended up being a delicious dinner. So delicious, that even my husband commented on it. I think this may certainly be a recipe that we’ll make again!
Grey’s Grade: 4/5
I think all in all this recipe for stuffed acorn squash was delightful. I did mention some adjustments that I’ve made, however it all does come down to preference. I’d normally give a recipe such as this a 5/5, however that would mean that I followed every ingredients and every step exactly as it is written. Because I made changes due to past experience, I find that I can give this recipe a solid 4/5. It’s delicious, I will make it again, but I will certainly keep my changes.
I would also like to sing my praises for the acorn squash alone. While folks may like stuffed peppers, I prefer this Fall-inspired version much more. If you haven’t tried acorn squash before, then I highly recommend it.
Do you have a favorite Fall recipe? Feel free to share in the comments, I’d love to try them out!
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