Quinoa Stuffed Squash with Cranberry Cider Glaze

by admin Healthy Recipes

Hi Friends!

I’m spending alllll morning studying for a HUGE midterm this afternoon….but here’s a tasty little recipe I whipped up for dinner last week. It involves squash. And cranberries. And sweet potatoes. And apple cider. Pretty much all things Fall.

At the grocery store last week I picked up my first delicata squash. Ever had one? I hadn’t. But I certainly will again. I really liked the mild flavor of it.

So here’s how dinner went down. I started by googling. My original idea was to just roast the squash and make something else for the main meal. Then I decided I needed some quinoa in my life so I thought I might stuff the squash. Then I remembered the apple cider in the fridge and thought that might be pretty good on the squash. Here’s a few of the recipes I used for inspiration:
Apple Cider Beer Glaze
Apple Glazed Carrots
Cider-Glazed Roots w/ Cinnamon Walnuts

Annnnd, as usual, here’s my own spin:

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Quinoa Stuffed Squash with Cranberry Cider Glaze
Serves: 2

1 delicata squash
1/2 a large sweet potato, diced
1 small apple, diced
8 baby carrots, sliced
1 c quinoa, cooked
1 c apple cider
1/2 c beer
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 c fresh/frozen cranberries
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 Tbsp butter
sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions:
1. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and place face down on a foil lined baking sheet.
2. Place the diced apples, sweet potatoes and carrots on the other half of the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring the vegetables occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the cider, beer, vinegar, sugar and cranberries. Bring to a boil and let the mixture simmer until reduced by almost half.
5. Place the walnuts in a medium hot skillet and toast for 2-4 minutes. Remove from pan, add butter to melt and return the walnuts to the pan. Toss to coat, sprinkle with cinnamon and set aside.
6. Remove the vegetables from the oven and place in a large bowl. Add the quinoa, walnuts and half the glaze. Stir to combine.
7. Flip the squash halves over, fill with the quinoa mixture and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
8. Serve with the rest of glaze on the side.
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I loved everything about this dish. The glaze gave it great flavor and the vegetables were cooked perfectly.

The only downside of this meal? Hubby hates squash.

Oh well, can’t win them all 🙂

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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