Herb Roasted Acorn Squash With Quinoa and Buttery Mushrooms

It’s about this time of year that I am fighting off the Christmas excitement. The day after Halloween, my IG feed is full of Christmas trees and wintery scenes. I would be lying if I said my heart didn’t skip a little beat every time I saw one of those posts, but I try my hardest to stay in the current season. Being present in the moment is such a great practice, it can help with anxiety, the feeling of time slipping away and I try to extend that practice into the season. November only happens once a year so let’s enjoy the fall feelings and flavors.

November is all about the food for me. Enjoying the amazing flavors that fall has to offer is my main focus, and going on fall walks to soak up the last of the beautiful fall weather. Throughout the entire year, we try our hardest to eat seasonally. We enjoy the fruits and veggies that are being harvested in the current season.

It is great for so many reasons, the foods are fresher, and more flavorful, also they don’t have to be shipped as far as out-of-season produce, which momma nature appreciates. All the seasons have so much delicious produce, but there is just something about those fall flavors.

We are so grateful to have the garden space that we do so we can eat seasonally easier. This year we had a big harvest of squash, including one of my favorites, acorn squash. I grew up enjoying acorn squash with the classic maple syrup, brown sugar and butter combo, but lately I have been trying savory flavors, like this turkey stuffed acorn squash; perfect for turkey leftovers!

This herb-roasted acorn squash with quinoa and buttery mushrooms hits all the right fall flavors in all the right places. The acorn squash is perfectly sweet and buttery. It is brushed with butter simmered with fresh parsley and sage, which marries so well.

Acorn squash pairs so well with other earthy flavors like quinoa, which also adds a slight crunch to the soft squash. I kept the quinoa pretty simple, just some herbs and pepper added, It already has such a great natural flavor and I wanted plenty of room for the squash and mushrooms to come through.

The star of the dish though, in my opinion, is the buttery shiitake mushrooms. They have such an earthy, rich flavor that is so enjoyable, especially this time of year. You know when something is so good, that it is almost hard to get the last of it down? Your body says enough, but your tastebuds say deal with it! Although I love shiitake mushrooms, any mushroom works great in this dish.

You will find shiitake mushrooms in lots of my recipes. I am obsessed with the earthy flavor, and I find they blend with so many flavors. Try this wild mushroom and herb stuffing, butternut squash soup with Italian sausage and mushrooms, and this spicy sausage and mushroom white pizza.

I am telling you if you need one more fall fix, this is the recipe! The sweetness from the acorn squash marries so well with the nutty flavor of the quinoa. It is finished with the earthy, buttery flavor of the shiitake mushrooms.