I spent this morning cleaning the house, organizing the guest room, and making the place feel “homey”, because family is coming to visit and the holidays are officially underway.
The next few days will be filled with all things Thanksgiving: grocery shopping, preparing, cooking, baking, drinking wine 😉
This year, we will be forgoing the turkey once again (which doesn’t mean you have to – if you eat turkey, choose organic for the healthiest choice and best quality) and having a nut loaf as our main entree. We’ll pair it with loads of roasted veggies, cornbread stuffing, salad, and healthier desserts. This year we have a few new dishes to try, as well as some favorites. 
One dish that I love to make during the fall is acorn squash. My usual method is to roast and stuff it, but with more than just two people, it gets to be a little tedious. And half an acorn squash with rice is quite filling, and I’d rather have a smaller amount, so I can eat a little bit of everything else 😉
Instead of stuffing it, you can simply unstuff instead. Deconstruct the acorn squash, roast it, and cook the rice mixture on it’s own. It’s a great main dish, as well as a few healthy sides for our meal.
- 2 acorn squash
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp olive oil (one for rice, one for squash)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (I like to cook mine in broth and water)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup chopped almonds
- 3 celery stalks
- ¼ yellow onion
- 2 tsp rosemary
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Slice your acorn squash into ½ in slices. You can chip it in half first, scoop out the seeds, and then flip it over to slice.
- Place slices in a roasting pan or casserole dish. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
- Cook for 20 minutes, drizzle with maple syrup and cook for additional 15-25 minutes. Pierce with a fork to see if cooked. The squash should be soft.
- While roasting, prepare your rice (I use a rice cooker and cook in ½ water, ½ broth).
- In a large pan, heat remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Chop onions and celery and add to your pan. Cook until slightly soft.
- Add in your rice, cranberries, almonds, and spices. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, mixing until combined and heated.
Serve on top of or along side acorn squash as your healthy Thanksgiving sides, main dish, or an alternative to stuffing.
What is your main dish going to be? Turkey or Tofurkey or veggies?
Peace and Love,
Jessi
