Simple Baked Acorn Squash

I got a few beautiful little acorn squash at the apple orchard last week.  They're so simple to make as a side dish or even an easy, healthy fall snack.

Simple Baked Acorn Squash

Here's what I used:

2 acorn squash
1 tbsp butter, divided
salt

Here's what I did:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds.  Srape gently to get rid of goopy connective pith.  Place on foil lined baking sheet, and add a small pat of butter to each squash cup.  Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until fork tender.

I like to serve it as is, and let everyone scoop out the center.  Also an easy baby or toddler snack if scooped out and served as a puree.

Fresh Apple Crumble

Nick and I took Sydney to a nearby apple orchard yesterday, and we had the best time picking apples and enjoying the gorgeous 70 degree weather.  Sydney definitely thought it was her responsibility to check each apple's sweetness...by taking a bite...from each apple.  LOL. 

Once we got all EIGHT POUNDS of apples home, I stared at them.  We don't eat a lot of apples.  What would I do with them all?  (Note: my horse Zen assured me that if I couldn't think of anything, he'd be happy to take care of the problem for me.  He's like that.  A fixer.)

A quick chat with a neighbor helped me formulate a plan.  I could do a pie, but that would be a tall order.  Crust.  Dough.  Filling.  She mentioned a simple recipe of fresh cut apples, cinnamon, sugar, oats...  Now that sounded like something I could handle. 

So I went looking and found something just right.  And it was really, really yummy!

Fresh Apple Crumble

Here's what I used:

6 tart apples, skinned, cored, and cut into thin wedges

1 cup white sugar

1 cup AP flour

1 cup quick-cook oats

2 tbsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 stick butter, sliced thin

Here's what I did:

Preheat oven to 350.  Layer or pile apples into a 9x12 or 8x8 baking dish.  I used a glass pyrex baking dish. 

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using half the cinnamon.  Drizzle with melted butter and stir to incorporate.  Its important to incorporate the dry ingredients first, so that your flour and sugar begin to dissolve. 

Spoon your crumbly mixture evenly over the apples, making sure they're all covered.  Sprinkle remaining cinnamon overtop, and evenly distribute butter slices.

Cook for 50 minutes.

We had this with French Vanilla ice cream underneath.  It was simple, delicious and make our entire home smell fantastic!!