Moroccan Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

Today is a special day!  It’s my two, count ‘em two, year blogiversary!  I can’t believe how fast time flies.  It doesn’t seem like it’s been two years since I hit publish on that very first blog post.  Thanks to all of you for your continued support.  I truly appreciate every reader and comment I receive.

I was thinking about putting together a Question and Answer post if you are interested to know anything about yours truly.  Email me at swankydietitian@yahoo.com.

In honor of this festive occasion , I wanted to share a few of my favorite eats, treats, and adventures over the past year (in no particular order):

Catalina and Ensenada

Cinnamon Bread French Toast

Creative Cooking School Vegetarian Class

Dessert (and Bachelorette Fun) at Max Brenner

My 27th Birthday

My Glow Magazine Debut

The recipe I made last night would also be listed as a favorite post, I am pretty sure of it.

I bought this beauty at the store yesterday and being my first time making acorn squash, I took to allrecipes to find a creative recipe.

The only change I made was eliminating celery and adding in more carrots. I did also halve this recipe since I am cooking for one.

Moroccan Style Stuffed Acorn Squash (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
• pepper to taste
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken vegetable broth
• 1 cup uncooked couscous

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender.

-Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter. Brush squash with the butter mixture, and keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing.

-Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook 5 minutes.

-Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin and pepper and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.

-Pour the broth into the skillet, and mix in the couscous.

-Cover skillet, and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absorb liquid for 5 minutes.

-Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture to serve.

I think instead of calling this dish by the actual name, Moroccan Style Stuffed Acorn Squash, it should be called The Most Amazing Dish Ever!!!  (Picture me shouting like an announcer at say a sporting event to get the full effect. )

Ok, maybe a bit of a stretch, but honestly this dish was delish!  Every bite had an explosion of mouth-watering flavors.  From the sweetness of the brown sugar, to the spiciness of the cumin…this dish was a true success.

I am so excited that I have enough for leftovers.  I did offer to bring a half to my sister but since she declined, I get to selfishly indulge two nights in a row.

Other Swanky Scoop:

I have partnered with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the ADA ) to offer their evidence based publication to purchase.

If you are interested in purchasing either publication, the links are as follows- Childhood Obesity and Becoming Vegetarian.

*disclaimer: I will receive commission off of sales of this product.

Make sure to email with you questions you may have.  What would you love to see more of on my blog?  What is your favorite way to make acorn squash?

Tagged as: academy of nutrition and dietetics, dinner, moroccan style stuffed acorn squash, recipe