Recipe: Acorn Squash Muffins

We cannot keep acorn squash in the house. The reason being that my husband and son will inhale acorn squash muffins. You'd think these muffins gave super powers with how quickly they get devoured!

This recipe is my pumpkin bread recipe but you use the acorn squash and cook it in muffin tins!

Halve the squash and scoop out the guts.
(Give the guts to some back yard chickens for a natural dewormer.)
Lay the cut side down and bake until the squash gives in easily when pressed.
Scoop the meat from the skin while warm and mash with a fork.

Ingredients:
2 cups flower (choose a gluten-free flour if serving guests who are gluten-sensitive)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup acorn squash mash (you don't need to puree the acorn squash, a good fork mashing will do)


Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

A great breakfast food and easy way to sneak some extra vitamins in to your baked goods!

My First Basket!

I just picked up my first Bountiful Baskets basket. I don't know that I've ever been so excited about produce. Seriously, I got excited about seeing what veggies I'd get and I'm not a veggie-lover.

Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op that supplies produce as well as some other foods. The baskets are the main item and can be conventional or organic. Here's the catch: You don't know what will be in your basket until you pick it up. It'll be about half fruit and half vegetables but that's really all you know. You can order add-ons that are specific foods or food types but the main baskets are a surprise. (How's that for adding some surprises to your meal planning!)

Here's my first basket:

This is a conventional basket so it was $15 plus the processing fee and the one-time first basket fee. It ended up being right around $20 for all that produce! Included this week: two bags of carrots, one pineapple, one acorn squash, two heads of lettuce, several bananas, one bunch of spinach, one bag of apples, three avocados, one bunch of leeks, five tomatoes, eight tangerines, and eight new potatoes! It all came looking great!

Oranges, apples, and bananas will be snacks and breakfast fruits. The spinach, lettuce, and tomato will be used for salads. The carrots will be steamed for Alex (maybe I'll toss a few in the salad, but don't get your hopes up). Pineapple will likely be snacks or saved for Alex. I have no idea what to do with the acorn squash, avocados, or leeks. I have never cooked acorn squash or leeks and generally don't enjoy avocados. The new potatoes will also be interesting as we usually eat plain white potatoes.

I'm really excited about planning our meals for the next two weeks now!