Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash

It was so amazing that my fiancé, who is not typically a food photographer, took a photo and sent it to his mom. Delicious, easy, and somewhat low calorie: here's the recipe. 😋

Ingredients

-2 medium acorn squash, ~200-300g/serving (~150kcal/serving)

-Olive oil, 5ml olive oil/serving (~45kcal)

-Your favorite savory spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are what I used, and then I added paprika and cayenne for my fiancé because he likes spicy foods)

-1 box Near East Parmeson Couscous (150kcal/serving)

-1 bag part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (you'll have leftovers), 28g/serving (80kcal)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cut both acorn squash in half vertically (stem to tip), and scoop out guts and seeds (seeds can be kept and roasted if desired).

3. Drizzle 5ml olive oil (about a tsp) over each acorn squash half and season with the spices of your choice.

4. Bake for 25-40 minutes (it will depend on how big your squash is. Start with 25 minutes, check to see if the squash is soft and browning, and then add 5-10 minute increments if it needs to roast longer.

5. While the squash is in the oven, boil 1 and 1/3 c water and add the seasoning packet from the Near East Couscous.

6. When the water comes to a boil, stir in the couscous, cover the pot immediately, remove it from the heat, and make sure to shut off the stove.

7. Add 1/4 of the couscous to each squash half and cover each with 28g mozzarella cheese (or more if you want it cheesier!).

8. Broil on high for about 1-2 minutes (watch closely, and pull everything out when the cheese starts to brown (lol don't set the squash on fire).

9. Serve or store, and enjoy! 😄

Nutrition

Makes 4 Servings

Nutrition values for 1 serving (these are well-educated estimates, so please double check if precision is important to you!):

425 kcal, 17g protein, 56g carbs, 11.5g fat

Sources

Thank you to Love & Lemons blog for teaching me ro roast acorn squash: https://www.loveandlemons.com/roasted-acorn-squash/