L, I often just stick a half in my microwave for lunch here at work. I cut it in half, put it on a plate cut side down, poke a couple of holes in the shell with a fork and turn the oven on for five minutes or so. When the squash is tender I scoop it out of the shell, add salt and pepper and eat it for lunch.

I've never tried to "par bake" it in the microwave, but I sure don't see why you couldn't, then stuff it with whatever you like and cook until the stuffing is done/heated through.

I do the same thing with butternut or other hard squashes and with sweet potatoes. I eat the peel on regular potatoes but not sweet potatoes. Hmmmm. i've got to think about that quirk..

Annie

I make stuffed acorn squash for my lunch or dinner. DH doesn't like it. I usually stuff it with sausage, apples, onions, & rice. I halve the squash & put it upside down in a baking dish with about 1/2" of water. Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Take it out of the oven & add the stuffing (already cooked...just needs to be heated through). Back into the oven for another 20 minutes, or so. It's always soft all the way through & not soggy. The water evaporates away. I love acorn squash! I make the stuffing in large quantities & keep in the freezer in 1/2 squash serving sizes so it's an easy meal to put together. Then, while the squash is baking I usually make a batch of muffins since they bake at the same temperature & the same length of time as the squash's first baking. The steam from the squash's evaporating water seems to make for moister muffins as a side benefit!

/tricia

Really easy, I poke a few holes in the whole squash and microwave (uncut) for about 5 minutes. Then I cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and it's now 3/4 of the way cooked. Then it just takes a short time to finish in the oven. I usually put just butter and brown sugar and let it caramelize in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

I usually get home from "work" at 7 PM or later. I'm one of those Rachel Ray style cooks--30 minutes is good, I can't do much longer than that. Weeknight meals are usually soup and sandwiches, stir fry or pasta or salads. Last night I did a potato in the microwave for the first time. Don't know why I haven't done that more often! Was easier than boiling, I could pop the microwave dish in the dishwasher instead of scrubbing a pot.

tricia: Your stuffed acorn squash sounds great. I'm going to try it. We also love acorn squash and I prepare mine much the same as you. I flip the halves when they're just tender and salt and pepper and butter them and pop them back into the oven to continue heating until tender and the butter is melted. Sometimes I put chunky apple sauce in them instead of the butter.
Annie'71

Lpink, I do mine like mtnester said.
I understand the late night thing and no time to cook for an hour.
Try baking the squash one night (while you're eating soup or something), after dinner, stuff the squash and finish baking.
The next night, all you have to do is nuke it!!

I often cook after dinner for the next day. It's the only way I can make things that take longer to cook.

I wonder if you could cook them in the crock pot???!?!?
Anyone tried that? A little water in the bottom and either whole or halved squash? Hmmmm....sounds like an experiment in the making!

Deanna

Great ideas, all of them! Thanks!
I have two squashes so I can try a couple of tricks. I won't get to this til later in the week--I have soup and stir fry to use up right now.

I like Deanna's idea best; something I've actually kinda done.

Acorn sqaush takes 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes in a 400°F oven, depending on size of squash and how many in the oven.

Cook them, whole, until it's 15 minutes short of the needed time.

Take them out, halve them, clean out the seeds, wrap them in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate them.

When you really want to eat them, put on the butter, brown sugar and a touch of nutmeg and finish them in the oven the remaining 15 minutes at 400°F.

Joe

I usually do mine just like sunnyinwisc, and cook partly in the microwave. I also do eggplant the same way when I'll be stuffing it.

I cut it in half, scoop it out the seeds, salt and pepper and butter in the cavity. Bake at 400 until soft covered by a sheet of aluminum wrap. Remove wrap, add parmesan cheese and bake a while longer.

I put whole butternut squash in a crock pot on low for 8 hours and high for 4 -- assume it works for acorn squash as well. No need to pierce it beforehand, and it's so easy to slice in half and scoop out the seeds when it's done. It's easier than trying to cook a squash shortly before meal time.

I'll have to give the crockpot a try! Thanks!
Now.........to find a crockpot large enough to hold those BIG Butternut squash
(I didn't want to type "BIG Butternuts" 'cuz Jessy might be reading....shhhh).

Deanna

I have an oblong slow cooker similar to the Sears model in the link below. Butternut squash fits easily in it. I also cook spaghetti squash in a crock pot. I'm sure acorn squash would do just as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: 7 qt. slow cooker

Well I tried a couple of acorn squash cooking techniques this week and the results were just OK, but I think it had more to do with the quality of the squash than the cooking method. I got inspired to make cornbread Thursday night so I baked the squash along with it, for 20 min. in a 350 oven and then left in the oven as it cooled off. Then I put the squash in the fridge and made it the rest of the way on Friday night. I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds. The flesh was almost white--NOT a good sign. The acorn squash I remember liking was yellow. Then I nuked the halves, cut side down, for five minutes. Meanwhile I was preheating the oven and making the stuffing. I stuffed the squash with a rice and kidney bean stuffing, including also corn and salsa and lowfat cheddar cheese. I put the stuffed squash in the oven for another 20 minutes, at 375. I forgot to salt them before stuffing them which was a bit of a negative point. The squash was done and soft, but not as much as I would have liked, and one squash was not cooked up at the top, but I had more than enough for dinner. It didn't have the best taste. If I had to make a guess, I would say it didn't get enough water while growing. I've had bitter eggplants come out of my garden in a drought, even when watered. Also, soil plays a HUGE role in how good vegetables taste. Anyway, I guess that's why most people bake acorn squash with lots of butter and brown sugar.

I'm definately going to try more acorn squash recipes, now that I know the trick about parbaking or cooking them whole to make them easier to cut, seed and peel.

Hmmm. I've never seen almost-white acorn squash flesh. The ones I eat are always deep orangy-yellow.

Finally, thanks to you guys, acorn squash success!!
I baked one today and had it for dinner. I put it in the oven, (uncut) at 350 for about 40 min. Then I seeded it and cut it up into quarters and basted them with a mixture of maple syrup, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and dried mint from the garden. Then caramelized in the oven for another 15-20 min. This squash was not white and weird inside like that other one. Delicious, although I was not crazy about the mint, but that is just me, I don't like mint in most things and am very picky about it. Squash argrodolce is a classic dish but I guess I have to be in the right mood for it. Anyway, the acorn squash was very yummy, with a perfect texture--not too dry or too wet and uniformly done! I really like the trick of cooking it uncut for the first 2/3 of the cooking time. This squash was like what I remember liking. I'm so happy to have acorn squash back in my life. I think there are some quality variables going on with the squashes that have sometimes given me less than perfect results.

Next week--spaghetti squash!!

I am guessing that the white squash was not acorn but another variety.
Also march is not the "season" for winter squash....so anything you buy now has been in storage for many months.
Next fall try simply halving the squash and turning it cut side down on a pyrex pie plate and microwaving for about 7 or 9 minutes until easily pierced with a fork....dress with a bit of butter and salt and pepper.
This is not the season for spaghetti squash either. I suggest you concentrate on seasonal vegetables, I think you will like winter squashes betterw hen they haven't been stored for a long time.
Linda C

The odd one from last week was an acorn squash unles one weird genetic mutant got into the squash batch. I'm 48 years old and have been eating (and growing) acorn squashes all my life. I know it's out of season, but so are green peppers and celery and lettuce, which I eat every week. And who knows about the carrots, cabbage and other root vegetables I buy--how long have they been in storage? I loved the squash I made tonight. It may not have even come from the US.

Every so often, I've gotten one of those acorn squashes with white flesh, and it's never very tasty, unless you doctor it up. I thought it meant that the squash was immature, picked too early, despite having the dark green rind. Now, I always try to find one with some orange coloring.

Laurie, I used maple syrup last time, and I liked it better than brown sugar because I could put it on the rim as well as in the cup of the squash. Next time, I'll try it with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, too (but I'll skip the mint!).

Even though it may take an hour from start to finish, you can pop it in the oven and do other stuff till the halfway mark, then cut/scoop/fill and have another 20-30 minutes of free time for cooking (or checking your email). I like food that takes care of itself!

Sue