Another Recipe for the Winter

Thanks to now being a member of a farm share, I’m forced to get more creative with my recipes, meaning I have to try stuff I’ve never tried before. Honestly, as much as I love squash, I have not cooked much of it in my lifetime. In fact, this may have been the first time I actually cooked squash. Anyhow, I find the secret to creating a good new recipe is to start off with something you are familiar with. I am very familiar with orzo (one of my families traditional holiday dishes), so I took a modified version of my mother’s recipe and made it into a stuffed squash recipe. And here it is!

Vegetarian Orzo Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 medium acorn squash
1 medium onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
2 tbsp butter, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups orzo
3 cups vegetable broth (I prefer Imagine’s No Chicken Broth)
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp salt
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Extra salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Poke the squash with a knife several times and then put it in the microwave for two minutes. Let stand for one minute. This should make the squash easier to cut. Cut completely in half, including the stems. Scoop out seeds.
3. Place squash halves open-side down into a Pyrex dish with a thin layer of water at the bottom. Bake squash for 35 minutes.
4. In a medium sized pot, saute the oil, butter, onions and peppers until onions are soft.
5. Add orzo and saute for about 2 minutes.
6. Stir in broth. Let simmer for about five minutes, stirring it every minute or so (more so if you are using stainless steel cookware.
7. Add butter and both salts and stir until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.
8. Pull baked squash out of the oven and sprinkle salt and pepper. Let squash cool for about five minutes. Fill halves with orzo and then cover with Parmesan cheese. Place back in oven for about 12 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
9. Place halves in wide bowls and enjoy!