My wife found this and we made when Mark and Missy came up from DC, we had no cranberries so we tried it with tart dried cherries. This was great, I mean really good. I asked Marie if I could use her pictures and post she said no problem. You can find more of her recipes here citronlimette, it is a nice site with some great recipes and ideas. Thank you Marie for this great treat!

Seasonal acorn squash stuffed with quinoa. pecans and cranberries is my idea of a healthy vegetarian meal. This recipe for orange quinoa stuffed acorn squash is easy to prepare and a real feast. I love the sweetness of the squash and the nuttiness of the quinoa.

Quinoa is addictively delicious.  Quinoa is usually treated like a grain or starch, cooking up like rice or pasta in a fraction of the time.

Choose squash that are heavy for their size and have a hard, deep-colored rind free of blemishes or moldy spots.

Once the seeds are removed, winter squash can be baked, steamed or simmered.

Ingredients

• 2 small acorn squashes, halved length-wise, seeds removed
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ cup dried cranberries – we were out of these so we substituted tart cherries
• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

How:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Rub squash flesh with 3 tablespoons oil and place face up on baking sheet. Roast 30-35 minutes or until flesh is easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and cool.
• Meanwhile, in saucepan bring broth and orange juice to a boil; stir in quinoa, lower heat and simmer, covered until ready. When quinoa is done cooking, turn off heat.
• In medium pan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and sauté until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and sauté an additional 1 minute.
• Add onion mixture, cranberries and pecans to cooked quinoa and toss until combined; add salt and pepper to taste.
• Fill each squash half with quinoa mixture. Drizzle with a bit of maple syrup before serving, if desired.

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