Cozy Autumn Acorn Squash and Brown Rice (A Recipe)

The more I cook, the more I realize something about myself: I love season-inspired menus. Grilled veggies, smoothies, and sorbet in the summer. Chili, soups and roasts in the winter. And all things pumpkin in the fall! And since I love pumpkin, when I saw acorn squash on sale for $0.49/lb, I picked up a couple, brought them home, and ended up with the following concoction that our family really enjoyed. I hope you do too!

Ingredients

2 small acorn squash, washed thoroughly 

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups brown rice

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups pulled chicken*

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion

1 tart apple

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg  

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare squash (taken from A Veggie Venture)

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Lightly coat entire squash in olive oil and place directly on top rack in oven. 
• Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower rack to catch any juices from the squash
• Cook for 50-90 minutes, until squash is soft (it should cut like room-temperature butter). Since my squash were on the smaller side, they only took about 50 minutes.
• Allow squash to cool before cutting open to avoid burns, especially from steam.
• Remove skin and seeds and cube or mash as preferred.

Prepare brown rice according to package directions using broth instead of water. 

Prepare pulled chicken: warm chicken through

*This recipe assumes you have pulled chicken on hand. After reading a section in Everyday with Rachel Ray, which gave 5 make-ahead-and-freeze ingredients to be used in 20 meals, I’ve become quite keen on making large batches of stuff and freezing meal-size portions for later use. I’ll share more details on that in a later post! 

Make the Dish

• In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. 
• Add chopped onions and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring.
• Lower the heat to medium-low and add chopped apples and seasoning.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are beginning to caramelize (about 10 minutes).

• Add rice, pulled chicken and squash to the and onion apple mixture until heated through.

• Garnish with fresh sage or mint. Serve with steamed vegetables and a crusty bread.