Baked Acorn Squash

I enjoy this recipe as a side dish or as a snack.  It really is more like a dessert (it has sweetness from the maple syrup/brown sugar).  Also, I save the squash seeds and roast them with a little salt & pepper for a tasty treat.

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash, halved, with seeds scooped out
2 TBSP Coconut Earth Balance
maple syrup (lightly drizzled)
apple pie spice

optional: 2 teaspoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
I prick the insides of the squash with a fork to allow the Earthbalance and spices to melt into the squash better. Fill the insides of the squash with the Earthbalance (1 TBSP in each half).  Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with apple pie spice or cinnamon.  Sometimes I add a little brown sugar as well.  Place the squash upright on a cookie sheet.  They will look like little bowls. I cover the bottom of the cookie sheet with a thin layer of water (helps steam the squash while cooking).

Cook for about 45 minutes. Sometimes they need more time, sometimes less. I recommend checking at around 35 minutes by pricking with a fork. You can add more steaming water at this time if the original water has dried up. The inside, squash flesh will be really soft when done.

I stuck some left over, cooked quinoa inside one of the squash halves when there was only 10 minutes left of cooking time. It was yummy!