Wow, has it really been 10 months since I last tried this whole blogging thing? I will admit, sometimes I'm not the best at sticking with new ideas I have--its part of my personality profile! (Thanks Myers Briggs for giving me an excuse!) But over the last few months, I keep trying new things that have me thinking, "I need to share this!"
New years always bring about new ideas for me. I'm not one to make actual "resolutions," but I am reflective in nature and tend to think of ways I can make the coming year better than the last. This year my focus is doing things that not only interest me, but are also productive. (sorry Facebook, you don't count) Writing has always been a love of mine, but I have really gotten out of the habit. Cooking, baking, crafting, and thrifty fashion have also always been interests of mine. So I guess you could say this blog is a way of combining them! I *hope* to stick with it this time!
Ok, enough of that boring back story. Today, I thought I would share a new recipe I tried on Saturday. Its called Paleo Acorn Squash. Hubs and I are kind of trying paleo recipes here and there but I wouldn't say we are strictly following the diet. We have been hitting the gym a lot harder lately and have been trying to be more "clean" in our eating habits, and many of the Paleo recipes fit into that category. But, 2 of the things you can't have on Paleo are cheese and....drumroll please....coffee. For those of you who know me, this was pretty much my reaction to the latter:
So we're trying to follow the 80/20 rule, which is 80% of the time we (I use the term "we" very loosely as my husband's diet depends largely on what I fix and home and what he chooses to consume while at work) eat paleo, while 20% of the time we don't. Again, focusing on healthy eating, not weight loss or strict dieting.
I found this recipe via Pinterest via
Robin's Sweet Confessions 30 Day Paleo Challenge
- acorn squash
- ground beef
- 1 granny smith apple
- 1 white onion
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, garlic
- 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
- coconut oil
- brown sugar
1. Cut acorn squash in half and preheat oven to 400°F. (I used 2 whole acorn squash)
2. Coat the inside of each half with coconut oil. Add a dash of salt . Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. (I used olive oil)
3. Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.
4. In a sautee pan, brown meat. Make sure you add a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic to give the meat some seasoning.
5. Then add in onion and apple to the meat. Let this simmer and break down with the meat. This will bring all the flavors together.
6. Add mixture to cooked acorn squash and top with a dash of cinnamon and some walnuts (optional).
Things I liked: super easy to make, few ingredients, really flavorful, made enough for leftovers
Things I didn't like: takes an hour or more to make, hubs said it was hard to eat (he had to scoop it out--how dare I make something that requires a little work!)
If you aren't a fan of sweet/savory things, you might not want to add cinnamon/brown sugar and stick to salt/pepper and other spices. I really like brown sugar so I thought it was amazing. Also, you could leave out the apple and add other vegetables to brown with the meat. It would be pretty easy to switch up.
Goodbye for now, I've got a pinterest project with my name on it waiting for me :)
Updates later...
