Roasted Honey Walnut Acorn Squash

Saturday afternoon, Amanda and I stopped to visit our grandma since she hasn't been feeling well the past few weeks. Her husband, pretty much our grandpa, has an amazing garden, and he's always so generous with giving away everything he grows! It's very convenient because we get home-grown vegetables delivered from only a couple blocks away. 

On Saturday he gave us some onions and a couple of acorn squashes. I've never tried it but I also have never met a vegetable I didn't like so I figured I'd give it a chance!

Boy am I glad I did! It turned out to be delicious and very similar to spaghetti squash in terms of baking and eating it. 

To roast it all I did was thoroughly wash the outside of each squash (he gave us two), cut it into quarters, and then pop it into the oven for an hour at 400 degrees.

Then, once the squash was tender and cooked, we added honey, coconut sugar, walnuts, and dried cranberries on top! It turned out well since the squash has a pretty mild taste which makes it easy to pair with other flavors. You could also go the savory route and try out other spices. 

I think it's pretty obvious where the acorn squash gets its name...

Be VERY careful when cutting up the squash. They're pretty solid and the outside is slippery which is not a good combination with a giant butcher's knife. If you have a big burly man around then it's best you snag him for this job. If not, then you just have to rely on your own guns like I did ;)

Remove all the seeds, and place the quarters in a glass baking dish. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with a touch of sea salt. We didn't add anything else since we knew we'd be putting the toppings on after. If you want to add other spices, though, this is the time to do it! 

Leave them in the oven for about an hour until they're tender and cooked. 

I had mine with a side of grilled chicken!