Ahhh… Fall.

Or Autumn. Whatever you call it, it’s the best season.

The weather is cooling off, the holidays are around the corner and basic bitches are sipping their first pumpkin spice lattes of the season.

This grain free stuffed acorn squash recipe celebrates the dawn of fall and all the basics who love it. It’s also a great way to use up leftovers!

Hopefully you like acorn squash, unlike poor little Stella who had some difficulties with her acorn squash. (My fav part is her face after she listens to the guy saying, “Take a bite Stella.” That’s the face I made when I had oatmeal for the first and last time in my life so help me God.) 

Anyway, start by preheating the oven to 400F.

Then slice and deseed the squash:

 Drizzle a little oil, sprinkle on some S&P and pop it in the oven for an hour, or until tender.

The base of the stuffing is any kind of leftover meat. I used leftover chicken taco meat:

But any leftover protein you have will do.

Then you need some aromatic veggies, I used onion, celery and carrot but you could substitute bell peppers or whatever veggies you have laying around in your fridge.

Oh, and some finely diced garlic if you have it.

And lastly, to make up for the lack of grains and to give the dish some heartiness, grab some mushrooms.

These are Maitake (a.k.a. Hen of the Wood) mushrooms, but again, any kind will do.

Get all the veg and ‘shrooms chopped up:

 While the acorn squash are baking, begin making the stuffing.

Start by heating up some oil in a large skillet. Then add the carrots, onions and celery to the pan.

Cook until translucent and then add the garlic and mushrooms.

Sauté until the mushrooms are browned, then add the leftover meat and stir.

Once the meat is heated through, taste the mixture and adjust seasonings if necessary. If it’s too bland add some S&P and if it’s too rich add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

Once it’s to your liking, turn off the heat.

When your acorn squash are done roasting, take them out and stuff them with the mixture.

At this point, not only are these delicious, they are also totally Paleo.

Since I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided to add some shredded cheddar on top just to make sure I wasn’t being too healthy or anything good for me like that.

Pop these babies in the oven until the cheese melts and enjoy!

Happy Fall!

[subscribe2]

[yumprint-recipe id=’110′]