Curried Lentil Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is actually my first time roasting acorn squash. I saw them at the farmers market on Saturday, so I thought now would be a good time. I had been wanting to make curried lentils for a long time and I've been wanting to make acorn squash for awhile, so I combined the two. I've seen people stuff acorn squashed before and I figured stuffing curried lentils in there would be good considering squash goes amazing with almost everything. I made this recipe for me and my parents and they both loved it, so it was a hit. I also had one to left over to take back to college with me which I was pumped about.

Major tip for cutting acorn squash: FLIP IT OVER. I tried to cut through the damn stem for like 10 minutes before I finally thought of turning it upside down. Five million times easier.

I actually only had a lentil and brown rice mix, so I just used that. Even though I really wanted to use plain lentils, this turned out really tasty, so you can honestly use any rice / lentil mix you want!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

- 2 acorn squash

- 1 C. uncooked lentils

- 1 tsp. olive oil

- 3/4 C. chopped yellow onion; about 1 small onion or 1/2 large

- 3-4 medium carrots, chopped

- 1 tsp. minced garlic (I used a little more bc I love garlic)

- 1 C. tomato sauce

- 1/2 C. lite coconut milk

- 2 Tbsp. curry powder

- 1/4 tsp. turmeric

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- tiny tiny pinch of cayenne pepper (like 1/8 tsp or less)

- dash of black pepper

- cilantro

Steps

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. cut acorn squash in half lengthwise (cut from the bottom), brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in the oven for 45 min to an hour

3. meanwhile, bring 2 1/2 C. water to a boil then add lentils, reduce heat, cover, and cook lentils for about 30-40 min (enough for them to absorb all the water).

4. while lentils are cooking, chop onion and carrots, add to saucepan and sauté with garlic and olive oil for 8-10 minutes until onions are translucent and carrots are tender. Then add tomato sauce, coconut milk, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt (can be adjusted for taste), mix and simmer until lentils are finished cooking

5. add lentils to tomato sauce mixture, and mix until all lentils are covered

6. when squash is done, add curried lentils to the middle and cilantro for garnish - I added more and mixed it around for taste