Saturday, October 8, 2011

Roasted acorn squash & dinner

I really wanted to try something...
Rachael Ray talked about roasting acorn squash (my favorite) and it sounded so easy that I knew I had to try it. Of course, I had to put something else with it, so I looked through the frig and freezer and this is what I made.

 I took two acorn squash and scooped them out. On a baking sheet, (I used tin foil-- I wouldn't next time as it stuck to the squash), rub some olive oil around the top, ground some pepper and a little sea salt on it, then placed the squash face down on it. I pierced the shell of the squash to let the steam out, although maybe I didn't need to.
I put them in a 435 degree oven for 40 mins....(I think I would be able to go for 45-50 mins, or go 40 mins at 450 degrees)

 While that was cooking, I opened some cream of mushroom soup, mixed with 3/4 can of milk, some crushed (grind) pepper and the seasoning of some pasta roni box-mix thing. I'm not sure I like the flavor of the pasta roni, but it was what I had. Tasted too 'processed' for me. And really, when the rest of your dinner is so good, it kinda takes away from the meal. But, anyway...

 I also had some carrots I needed to use up before they would get too soft to use. I cut them up and used them to mix with frozen peas. Nice and colorful (photos below).
I cooked up some egg noodles, tossed it with the soup/milk mixture and put it in a cassarole dish. I had some frozen (already cooked) mesquite grilled chicken breasts that I'd bought at Sam's club warehouse, so I topped it with those (cut in half).  

 I also poured part of the soup on top and sprinkled frozen peas on it. 


Okay, the squash came out of the oven and the caserole went in for about a half hour (just to heat up/defrost the chicken).


Look how beautiful these squash looked!! YUM! They smelled so good!


I had to scoop them to a cutting board to cut them up into three wedges per half. You can even see the steam still rolling off this. I spread a little butter in them before cutting up and you could add any seasoning (I used a little of Kitchen Kick'n Maple Sprinkle'n "A Sweet Treat"- made by Tomarc's of Troy).

These could have been cooked a little longer (notice how they weren't the same color all the way down the wedge? They were still cooked enough, just some areas were softer than others.

This was how I combined the veggies... I had frozen peas and fresh carrots, so I cooked them (microwave) separately, then combined them.

I should have taken a photo of the finished dinner plate, but I was too hungry by this time.. sorry. Gotta eat! Bye.