Wild Rice Stuffed Squash

First time I tried squash!  Not my favorite thing in the world, but not bad either.  The rice was my mom's favorite.  I thought it was a little sweet, but it was good enough to put up here anyway.  From Kare11's cookbook.  Below is a picture of the rice we had left over!

Wild Rice Stuffed Squash
2 butternut squash
1/4 cup honey
4 teaspoons grated orange rind
2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
3/4 cup chopped apple
1/2 cup dried cranberries (crasins)\
1 cup apple butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place squash on 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly roll pan; drizzle each half with honey and orange rind. Set aside.

In medium frying pan heat margarine until hot over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, onion, and celery. Cook until onion is tender. In medium bowl combine cooked vegetables, rice, apple, dried cranberries, apple butter, salt and pepper; mix well. Place about 1 cup filling in each squash half. Cover; bake 1 hour or until fork-tender. Top each with caramelized pecans, if desired.


4 Servings


Heat's Notes
The rice for the stuffed squash is more than plenty, so we put the leftover rice in a casserole dish and put it in the oven with the squashes for about 30 minutes.  Turned out well!