Nothing Says Fall Like . . .

. . . Acorn squash.

So to celebrate fall we are having apple stuffed acorn squash, peas, and ham steak for supper tonight.  Oh, we can't forget the chocolate chip banana bread (see recipe archive page above) for dessert.  Yummy!

Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 large acorn squash
2 medium red apples, diced
1 handful pecans
2 large spoonfuls of brown sugar (sorry did not measure)
1/4 cup melted stick butter

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Clean the outside of the squash.  Carefully cut the squash in half length-wise.  Scoop out the seeds and strings, discard.  Place the two squash halves cut side up in a 9x13 baking dish with about 1/4 inch of water in the dish.  Bake for 30 minutes.  

While squash is cooking prepare apple stuffing in a bowl.  At the 30 minute mark pull the squash out of the oven and fill with the delicious stuffing.  Pop it back into the oven for another 30 minutes or until tender.  Pull it out of the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes to cool.  Enjoy!!!! 

Additional Notes:
To hurry the acorn squash along in the cook process (before you bake in the oven).  You can cook both halves face down in a skillet with water over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Keep a careful eye on the acorn squash and make sure that the skillet does not boil dry.  (Burnt acorn squash in skillet is NOT fun to clean out.  Hence, I do not alway use this step.)  If you use this method, you will have to play around with the cooking times mentioned above.