Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Acorn Squash

     Thank you Shauna Sedler for sharing this recipe with me! Thank you, thank you, and thank you again because it was absolutely delicious.
       It's fall comfort food at it's finest, with sweet brown sugary squash goodness and tender chipotle chicken with protein packed quinoa and sharp cheddar cheeeeese! My god it was so good. I can't think of a better meal for this weather. Even the colors are totally Fall.

 
      It's the type of recipe you find and end up making it over and over again, and soon it becomes a staple meal in your seasonal recipe repertuar. (At least that's my plan because I sure do hope to eat this again)
      We've already gotten another squash to try it again, or maybe something new!

      I love dishes like this, where the entire meal is all together. Each bite is packed with so many different flavors and the presentation is great. Plus there is cheese and breadcrumbs on the top, so you really cannot go wrong...

     Now the ingredient list may seem pretty long, but it's a pretty simple recipe, made even easier if you make the quinoa ahead of time (which can be substituted for couscous), and even the chipotle sauce ahead of time.

But trust me, it's totally worth the preparation. The final product is amaaazing.

Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Acorn Squash

For 2

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper

1-1 1/2 chicken breasts (not lbs, actual breasts)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp minced garlic

2 chiles in adobo, minced (a tsp of adobo sauce from jar)

1 tbsp cilantro

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

dash cinnamon

dash cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

1/3 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup fresh spinach, wilted

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Brush the insides of the squash with butter, top with brown sugar and salt and pepper. Bake 40-45 minutes or until squash is tender. (Liquid will form in little pool at bottom of squash so brush it around)

While squash is cooking, also cook the chicken - brush it with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake until chicken is no longer pink, about 15-20 minutes.

Shred the chicken with two forks

Mix together olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, cilantro, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper, and set aside.

Mix spinach, quinoa, chicken and the chipotle mixture together.

Stuff the mixture into the squash, top with cheese and breadcrumbs mixed with butter.

Bake for 10 minutes.

PS- I had leftovers of the chicken stuffing mixture, so I made a quesadilla with it and cheddar cheese, served with pineapple salsa and sour cream. It was toooo dieeee for. A perfect idea for the leftovers, so keep that in mind!

Original recipe from Half Baked Harvest