ITEMS
Acorn Squash
Fajita Veggie Mix
Tomatillo Hot Sauce
Frozen Flathead Cherries
Vanilla Ice Cream
Baguette / GF item of choice
PRODUCERS
Harlequin Produce - Arlee
Root Cellar Foods - Belgrade
Arthur Wayne Hot Sauce - Missoula
Western Montana Growers Co-op - Missoula
Genuine Ice Cream - Bozeman
On the Rise Bread Co. - Bozeman / Misc.
Flathead Cherry Sauce
Frozen cherries are excellent for baking (like cobbler, pie, sweet breads, or muffins) or cooked into a sauce, like this one. Makes ~2 1/2 C.
1 1/2 C frozen Flathead cherries
3/4 C water, divided
3 Tbs granulated sugar
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs butter, or non-dairy spread
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp almond extract
Place the cherries and 1/2 C water in a small saucepan along with the sugar, butter and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for ~3 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 C water. Add the cornstarch slurry to the cherries, stirring continually until the sauce is thickened, ~1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract. Serve warm or at room temperature over vanilla ice cream, waffles, pancakes, or whatever you like.
Roasted Veggie Fajitas
Throwing a handful of items on a sheet pan to roast together is an easy and flexible dinner solution. Find links to more sheet pan dinner ideas below:
Halve, de-seed, and slice or dice your acorn squash. To peel or not is up to you. Toss it and the Fajita Mix veggies with 1-2 Tbs olive oil- just enough to coat everything- plus a big pinch of salt, and a bit of chili powder, cumin, and oregano, maybe a little cayenne for kick.
Roast in a single layer @ 400 F, turning once or twice until squash is tender and veggies are browning but not burnt, about 30-35 minutes.
Toss hot veggies with a bit lime juice, olive oil, chopped cilantro, and salt to taste. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, Spicy Tomatillo hot sauce, or whatever you like.
Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash
Recipe adapted from EatingWell magazine. 1 squash makes 2 servings.
1 whole acorn squash, rinsed
~2 Tbs olive oil or other cooking oil
4 oz ground meat like chorizo, grass-fed beef, or whatever you like (optional)
~1/2 a package Fajita Mix, or roughly half an onion and half a bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 C canned or fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 C cooked black or pinto beans (canned work great or you cook your own), or cooked lentils
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Spicy Tomatillo Hot Sauce, to taste
1/2 C cheese, shredded or crumbled, such as cheddar, jack, or feta (optional)
Preheat oven @ 375 F. Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out and discard seeds. Drizzle 1 Tbs oil between the 2 squash halves, using your fingers to coat the inside and cut sides. Place the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake until it is tender and can be pierced easily with a fork, 40-50 minutes.
While the squash bakes, chop the fajita veggie strips crosswise into a 1/2-inch dice or close to it. Then, heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 Tbs oil. *If not using meat, skip to cooking the bell pepper and onion.* Add meat, if using, and cook, stirring and breaking up until lightly browned, ~5 minutes.
Add onion and bell pepper to the pan and cook, stirring often, until softened, ~5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Then, add the chopped tomatoes, beans (or lentils), salt, and a several dashes of hot sauce. You can always add more hot sauce and/or salt, so start small and add more as needed. Use the addition of the tomato and hot sauce to help loosen any browned bits, mix well, then cover and reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Let simmer until the tomatoes are mostly broken down, 10-12 minutes.
Once the squash is tender, remove from the oven and turn both halves cut-side up on the baking sheet. Fill each half with the mixture from the pan and top with cheese, if using. You may have more filling than you need - it would work great in a taco salad, on top of nachos, etc. Return filled squash to the oven and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted, 8-10 minutes.
Additional Recipe Suggestions
Sheet pan Italian Sausages & Veggies to serve with crusty bread (or pasta, or cooked grains...). The roasting time seems long for pre-sliced fajita veggies. If using them, I'd add the sausages after 15-20 minutes!
Sheet pan sausage meatballs with veggies - recipe calls for broccoli & tomatoes but I've made it with peppers, onions, and sliced winter squash and it's just as good! There's a paywall for NYTimes recipes. If you'd like a copy of the recipe, let me know.
1-Pot Pumpkin Curry - This recipe works just as well with your acorn squash. Since it's all going in a soup, I suggest roasting the squash whole first. It makes cutting and peeling a whole lot easier. Just pierce it a few times to let steam escape and roast until it's totally soft. Use the fajita mix in place of shallot and a whole bell pepper, if you want.
Flathead Cherry Crisp - after making this a few times, I decided it needs a bit more fruit. Bulk up the filling with frozen blueberries, huckleberries, rhubarb, apples, whatever you got.