Cran-Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash
boiling water, or apple juice
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
¹/₂ cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter or oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, optional

Directions:

1. Cut squash in half and with a spoon, remove pulp and seeds. In a large baking dish place squash cut-side down. Pour ¼ inch boiling water into dish (or use ¼ inch room temperature apple juice for extra sweetness). Place dish in oven and bake squash for 30 minutes at 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, cinnamon, butter, salt, and fresh ground black pepper to make stuffing. Remove squash from the oven after the 30 minutes. Turn halves over and stuff center of each squash half with apple mixture. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or longer) until squash and apples are tender.