Roasted Acorn Squash with Bacon, Maple and Caramelized Onion Stuffing

 So while you're all busy dreaming about what you're going to do when you win your vanilla beans (giveaway open until tonight at midnight!), I've been dreaming up this little number.  I was inspired by one of the sweetest girls on the planet- my good friend Jillian from back in Ohio.  This girl is the greatest, the coolest of the cool, you don't even know.  She's the bee's pajamas.  The cat's knees.  

She recently shared a successful stuffed acorn squash recipe with me, and then the very next day, told me about a recent caramelized onion experiment.  Then crash-boom-bang, I had an idea.  A delicious autumn-style stuffing with caramelized onions needed to make an appearance inside an acorn squash, pronto.

Love me some acorn squash.  People forget about these guys.  The butternut squash is like the popular older brother, and the acorn squash is left in the shadows.  Butternut squash = cheer captain, acorn squash = bleachers.  So unfair.  But not today.  We're gonna stuff them up and show them off.

This stuffing would be excellent on its own for Thanksgiving, too.  It's got caramelized onions, bacon, walnuts and maple syrup, so it will basically blow your hats and gloves right off.  You know, in case you forgot and you're still wearing them at the Thanksgiving table.

Definitely give this one a try.  Before Thanksgiving, during, after, whenever.  It could be a great vegetarian option, too, without the bacon (how do they do it?).  Yum city.

Side note to all the food photographers and bloggers out there reading- I need some tips on photographing dinners during the winter.  I'm just not great at it (see above, ha!).  Help!

Roasted Acorn Squash with Bacon, Maple and Caramelized Onion Stuffing
by Oven Love
serves 4

2 acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
3 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, quartered and sliced thin
salt and pepper

6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
4 cups day old crusty bread, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/2-3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  To make sure each squash half sits flat on the baking sheet, slice off a small bit of the bottom and place each half on the baking sheet.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until beautifully browned and carmelized, 20 minutes or so.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the onions are cooking, combine bacon, bread, walnuts, maple syrup and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth.  Add the onions and taste, adding more salt, pepper and chicken broth if needed.  Stuff each squash half with the filling and sprinkle with the shredded gruyere.  If there's any extra stuffing, fill a small baking dish and bake it along side the squash.

Bake the squash (and any extra stuffing) for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash is soft.  If the cheese begins to brown too early, cover it with aluminum foil until the baking is complete.