First and foremost- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Now I’m sorry to say that I suck.  I’m going to be “one of those” people.  You know, the ones that don’t wait for a holiday to finish it’s glory before moving on to the next?

Yeah.  Currently, that’s me.

See I had some awesome food ideas for earlier this week- nice and Halloween themed too…and once again, they didn’t quite work out as planned.

So then I thought- no worries- I’ll do something with the delicata squash that I’ve been meaning to use. I didn’t want to make another soup/stew recipe though because hey, I’ve done that fairly recently. I’ve been wanting to do some sort of stuffed squash recipe for a while and well…that’s what ended up happening. Except it is kind of like a super duper Thanksgiving kind of recipe. As Cesar and I were working on it I kept saying, ” This would make a great main dish…for Thanksgiving.”

So whatever- there you have it.

I made you all a main dish for Thanksgiving- you know, a nice Vegetarian (or Vegan) Thanksgiving recipe to add to all your other tasty recipes!

And this one is delicious too- I promise.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase using this link. This is no extra cost to you and helps me support myself and keep this blog going. I only work with and recommend companies that I believe and support myself!

For further Thanksgiving recipe ideas please check out my Lemon Spice (and everything nice) Cranberry Sauce and  Apple Crumb Pie.

Quinoa and Cranberry Stuffed Delicata Squash

Serves 4

2 Delicata Squash

2 TBSP Butter, separated (for vegans, use a non-dairy based butter)

1 tsp Brown Sugar

Salt/Pepper

3/4 Cup Quinoa

1 1/2 Cup Water

1 Medium Onion

1 Clove Garlic

1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 tsp Thyme

1/4 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Sumac

1/4 Cup Mushrooms

1/4 Cup Chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.  Melt 1 TBSP butter and coat the inner parts of the delicata evenly.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bake squash in a pan for 30 minutes, or until the squash is cooked through.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot and add the quinoa.  Cook for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, chop the onion, garlic, cranberries and mushrooms.  Heat a large pan on medium heat and add 1 TBSP butter, onion and garlic.  Cook for several minutes until they begin to soften and add cranberries, mushrooms, thyme, cumin and sumac.  Cook for about 10 minutes and fold in cooked quinoa.  Cook for several more minutes before adding in chopped pecans.

Evenly disperse quinoa mixture into squash.

Serve and enjoy!