Fall Running and Eating Clean

It has been quite a day full of racing fun and great eats. The weather fully cooperated for us and Boston was full of fall foliage.

Great views from Forest Park, Boston MA

Daijia and Tajiah at the finish line.

Dad on the Run in the middle of the pack

While being surrounded by the smells of fall, I really wanted to make a recipe with a food staple of the fall, Acorn Squash. This is also BSI (Bloggers Secret Ingredient) ingredient this week which is being hosted by MegaNerdRun. I will have to admit that I have never worked with an Acorn Squash before. I thought to myself, ?How hard can it be?? I found a great recipe for Eat Clean Rice Pilaf and thought it would make a great filling for these tasty little squashes.

Acorn Squash

Adapted from Simply Recipes

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.

4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.

The Stuffing: Eat Clean Rice Pilaf

Adapted from Tosca Reno?s Eat Clean Cookbook

Note: I was cooking multiple dishes and did not snap any pictures of the procedure :(

Ingredients:

Method

In large a skillet, heat oil. Add onion, carrot, and zucchini and cook until soft.

Add garlic and coriander and cook until garlic becomes fragrant.

Add rice and mix vegetables in. Cook through until heated through and flavors meld together. Add scoop of cooked rice into each cooked acorn squash. Serve immediately.

The finished product

Mom on the Run?s Sunday Dinner Plate

The verdict: The acorn squash was a complete hit. Our dinner guests good not stop raving about how well the flavors melded together. I was so excited that the dish was so tasty and that my first experiment with acorn squash was successful :)

I have lots of great recipes to come this week.

Thank you for all the positive feedback from my ?Ohm? moment story. I really appreciate it!