things that are stuffed

October 13, 2011

In my family, the only time we ever play games is at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s always like – “oh we should play games tonight!” And then everyone gets excited. Then, after we have eaten for four hours straight and we can barely keep our eyes open because we are so exhausted, playing games just doesn’t seem like very much fun anymore.

So then there’s usually only one person who still wants to play games – most likely my father – and everyone else doesn’t want to play because we know crabby people = a lot of fighting during game time.

Nonetheless, we get those games out.

Once we pull those games out, our usual choice is Scattergories. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we pull up chairs to a huge table, fight about who is on whose team, and get out the timer. People scramble for pens, the Husband and I fight about me writing the answers because I’m left-handed (which makes it difficult for him to see the categories), and the first letter rolled will most likely be something weird like “u” or “i”.

No one likes those letters when they’re rolled – unless you get the list that has “a girl’s name” as one of your options because then you could pick something fun like “Ursula” or “Inez”.

Whatever – I’ll tell you the truth. We all end up having a grand old time and only get out the computer to check our sources at a minimum of 37 times. It’s just how we roll. Then we all talk about how we never like playing games together because we all take it too seriously. Then we play again at Christmas.

I’m thinking though, that this year we should play $25,000 Pyramid. Mainly because I like categorizing things (Type A much?). Give me a category and I will list like you’ve never seen anyone list anything before.

Today’s category?

Things that are stuffed.

French Toast.

Teddy Bears.

Me after dinner.

Pizza.

Squash!

Having stuffed foods just makes everything more enjoyable. It’s like you get two meals in one.

Right? Right.

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Balsamic Maple Glaze

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Prep/Cook Time: 45 minutes

For the squash:

1 acorn squash, halved and deseeded
1/2 cup quinoa, dry
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 cup prepared chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste

For the glaze:

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, cut your acorn squash in halves, and scoop out the seeds and “pulp”. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Rub 1 tbsp. olive oil onto the squash’s flesh and place flesh side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

While your squash is cooking, get to work on your quinoa. Place 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup water in a small sauce pan and bring to a rapid boil. Lower the heat, and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally (~15 minutes).

While your quinoa is cooking, trim and halve all of your brussels sprouts. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add your white onion, brussels sprouts, and garlic and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in your chickpeas in the last 2-3 minutes to heat.

We’re almost there! Combine the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, Bragg’s, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, and salt/pepper to taste in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

When your brussels sprouts are done, add that mixture to the quinoa and gently fold in the vegetables. Pour the glaze on top of the quinoa and stir to coat. The acorn squash should be done cooking at this point – stuff the quinoa mixture into each half and serve.

And then when you’re done eating this, you can add yourself to the “things that are stuffed” list.