Foodie Friday: Acorn Squash

This Friday, another fall favorite for dinner - acorn squash. The acorn squash is a green, sometimes with orange patches, squash that's shaped like an acorn. It's usually about the size of a softball. There might be another way to cook this squash, but this is the way I was taught and now share with you!

Turn your oven on to 350 degrees and get that pre-heating. Grab a good knife and cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Prepare a casserole dish, spray some Pam cooking spray in the bottom of it and then pour in about 1/4 inch of water. Then place the halves inside down in the water and place the casserole into the oven. Let the squash cook for about 40 minutes - the squash will start to shrivel up.

When the squash is done, pull it out of the oven and allow it to cool for a couple minutes. I then take a clean dish towel and cradle the cooked squash in my hand as I scoop out the insides into a bowl. Then I sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and about 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar over the squash and mix it all up. Finally, dish it up in pretty bowls and serve! My husband likes this enough that he'll eat 1/2 a squash in a setting, but I'd imagine you could feed several children with 1/2 a squash as well.

Foodie Friday: Squash Zucchini with herbs

It's the end of summer and those of you with gardens might have just a little bit of zucchini and squash these days. Here's a little something that might help you take care of the extras. You'll need:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 yellow squash
3 zucchini
1 red pepper
1/4 cup chopped basil and cilantro (or parsley)

First cut your squash and zucchini into larger chunks and set them aside. Cut up your red pepper into larger chunks and add them to your bowl of squash.

Next pull out your basil and cilantro and thoroughly wash both. I usually use 6 - 7 basil leaves and a handful of cilantro - though you can use parsley if you prefer the flavor. After you've washed your herbs, you want to cut them up into little bits - called mincing. There's even a sweet little tool called a mincer to help you in the task! Put your minced herbs into a small bowl and set them aside as well.

In a large pot, pour in your olive oil and allow it to begin to heat up on medium heat. Add your squash to the olive oil and gently toss it so that all of your squash has a bit of olive oil on it. Allow that to heat until the squash starts to turn a little translucent. Then add your herbs and stir them into the mix. Continue to heat the mixture until the herbs start to wilt and then remove your pot from the heat. You don't want to over cook the mix - your squash should not be rubbery, but still a little crunchy.

Pour your mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Voila! End of summer goodness!