Holy moly is it ever cold out this morning! I broke down and turned my heat on after Siri told me it was 28 degrees outside! My fingers are icicles as I type, but rest assured, this is going to warm them right up!
To warm you guys up to the wonderful week I have had so far. I am just going to leave these here for you to fully enjoy….
So this week has started with lots of fall festivities! Sunday I visited my old stomping grounds in the wonderful city of Grand Rapids, MI. If you have never visited in the fall, I highly recommend it! The agenda for the day consisted of grabbing brunch at a new place downtown, apple picking at an apple haus and winery, pumpkin carving with the besties, and baking apple crisp and pumpkin seeds! The typical endeavors of a Fall fan (aka ME). I decided to continue with the fall trend, and try my hand at a new favorite of mine; acorn squash!
Acorn Squash is at its peak in the fall, and AFS has had a surprising surplus of acorn squash up in the break room, which no one knew what to do with, so I took the plunge and decided to give it a go! And may I just say, YUM! There is so much you can do with an acorn squash! While it’s traditionally enjoyed as a dessert, I decided to put a spin on a recipe that called for spaghetti squash instead of acorn squash and go a little more savory. I was worried about it not working in my favor, but this stuff is pretty darn delicious, and I’m not even a mustard fan!
I am all about experimenting, so this dish was a complete shot in the dark, but I am ever glad that I took it. I have meals to last me through the week and then some! With that being said, coach Jen will most likely not be doing a blog next week. I have enough meals from my turkey chili last week and then this dish, that I don’t need to cook anything up for a while! 🙂 Don’t worry though, I will still continue to bring you guys some fun tips and tricks every now and then. Just may not be every week! One perk of meal prep, is sometimes you don’t have to do a single thing for meal prep, other than chopping up any veggies you want to munch on. You also kinda sorta want to be a fan of leftovers for this to work. If that isn’t you, that’s okay! Fresh food is always more ideal 😛
I would say if you are game for a little bit of a fun challenge, try your hand at acorn squash, and let me know how it goes for you! Share your recipe on your Facebook or Instagram with a photo of your masterpiece, and be sure to tag me in it so I can see it in all of its glory! Or have another fun fall recipe you want to give a shot? Share your story, wins, fails, and funny bloopers! I am all about it. You did see my post from last week, right?
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Acorn Squash with Spicy Dijon Mustard Sauce
Serves 4-5
- 2 acorn Squash cut in half
- 12 oz. large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 20 shrimp)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt and cracked pepper, to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dried)
- To make the acorn squash, preheat oven to 425 degrees F and cut squash right down the middle. Scoop out all the seeds and place cut side down on a baking sheet lightly drizzled with oil so they don’t stick. Bake the squash in the oven for 35-40 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat, add shrimp and season with salt and pepper, sauteing for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute an additional 2 minutes until shrimp is cooked through; remove from heat and set aside (you don’t want to overcook the shrimp)
- Add lemon juice, lemon zest, Dijon mustard and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow sauce to simmer until the spaghetti squash has finished baking.
- Remove the skillet from heat and take squash out of the oven. Let cool.
- While waiting, whisk yogurt in with the sauce until creamy and smooth. Place the 1/2 acorn squash right side up, and pour shrimp and sauce in the opening of the squash. Top with fresh or dried parsley. Serve and enjoy!
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