Stuffed Acorn Squash

Weekly Grey's Anatomy family bonding plans were squashed on account of adult chaperon duty at a junior high school dance.  Always one to take defeating news lying down (okay, I take all news lying down), I managed to squash right back.  Acorn squash were .59 each a couple of weeks ago and I still had three.  Since there would be no sweet get together, I decided to savor my evening alone.  Most winter squash fare has a sweet component.  I looked for something with more savory accents and found this easy crockable stuffed squash recipe.  I have no idea who developed it, because it was found on multiple websites.  I altered nothing and prepared it exactly as written.  This is a light meal, coming in under 350 calories per half.

Winner, Loser, or Meh 

This was good and I was happy to get a winter squash dish that wasn't like a dessert. I enjoyed the combination of flavors in this dish.  The squash is sweet, but the hit of garlic, texture of the rice, earthiness of the pine nuts, with the tang from cheese and tomato balanced very well.  This gets to be on the winners list because it is easy, cheap, low in calories, and looks and tastes like something from the deli case at Whole Foods.  

Recipe

I used a 6 quart crock for this.

Ingredients:

• 1 large acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, bowl-like bottom of squash half sliced to sit flat
  
• olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1/4 cup raw pine nuts (pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds may be substituted)
• 1 Tbls minced garlic (I used Christopher's jarred)
  
• 1 Tbls tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese (I used feta)

Pour water into crock.  Brush squash halves with olive oil and place in slow cooker.  In a bowl, combine wild rice, pine nuts, minced garlic, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and spices. Stir & mix well.  Spoon rice mixture into each squash half.  Pour 1/2 the stock into each squash cavity, being careful not to let stuffing flow over. Pour any remaining stock around the squash. Cover.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for  6-8 hours. Sprinkle with cheese and serve warm.