Cooking Acorn Squash

The leaves aren't turning yet, but fall is definitely in the air. Fall really is one of my favorite seasons, except for the fact that it is followed by winter. I love the crisp air and the fall colors, but I also love the vegetables of fall.

Acorn squash ranks pretty high in my list of favorites. It is so incredibly simple to prepare and tastes wonderful. It also is quite healthy for you.

We prepare acorn squash by roasting it. Simply cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds in the middle. Roast, cut side down, on a lightly oiled pan at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the squash is soft. It can also be prepared the same way and then cooked in the microwave, but roasting in the oven gives it a much better flavor.

Then we simply serve the squash with a dollop of butter and sprinkle of brown sugar in the middle. The kids love mixing it all together and scooping it right out of the shell. Of course you can also do all the scooping and mix everything together with butter, brown sugar and even a touch of cinnamon if you like.

Quite honestly, because this is so easy, and we enjoy it so much, I really haven't ventured beyond this basic and simple "recipe." Today I thought I'd take a peak at some other ways to prepare it.

I used Scribbit's customized mom blog search because mom blogs usually have the best recipes I think. You can see the results here.

Many of the recipes I found were dressed up versions of my basic method. Food Blogga offers Roasted Acorn Squash with Honey-Lime Pepitas. You'll have to go there, just like I did, to find out what peptias are. Veggie Venture offers Acorn Squash with mustard and honey.

There were also many recipes that were quite different. I think Smitten Kitchen has the corner on the market for the most variety of squash recipes. Search her site for "acorn squash" and find a pizza recipe, a quesadilla recipe, a soup recipe, and more.

These recipes just look too good. I do believe I may need to expand my acorn squash horizons. What is your favorite way to fix acorn squash?