Happy New Year, fellow hangry folk! Isn’t the new year glorious? It’s a time for us to refresh, restart, and renew, right? Right. Right? Weeellll,we aren’t sure. Throughout the month of January, the sisters here at Hangry Chicks keep seeing all of these ads for “NEW YEAR, NEW YOU!” crap. It’s annoying. Really, advertisers? You can’t come up with something different? Every business in the world has somehow gotten on this exact campaign? We are sick of it. So we say, “New Year, Same You: Because you’re awesome how you are YOU”. Or, “New Year, You’re already doing amazing things for yourself so who needs new, YOU”. Or maybe, f*ck it! Hangry Chicks style, “New Year, New Squash”. That’s right. New squash. Greta tested this simple yet oh-so-versatile recipe that will knock your hanger socks off and kick your hanger to the curb (how’s that for a 1996 kind of reference?) with zero unhealthiness. Take it away, sister!

Thank you, Natalie.  While we don’t agree on everything all the time (no matter how much I try, I just can’t enjoy Shakira’s “She Wolf”), we definitely agree on the hackneyed “New Year, New You” expression:  Why must we always reinvent ourselves upon the arrival of the New Year?  Hmm?  While there’s nothing wrong with reinvention and renewal, why don’t we do something a little different this year?  Let’s break from tradition, leave “you” alone for once,  and focus on embracing a New Squash.  Since I have never interacted with or eaten (to my knowledge) an acorn squash, I decided to to make it my New Squash for 2013.  As the older sister, let me just break out some 1980s references and say the acorn squash is, like, so totally radical that you’ll have to take a chill pill to handle it.  I’m so sure!

Here’s the best part: You could have an IQ that matches your shoe size and still be able to successfully prepare an acorn-squash dish.  Why?  I’m glad you asked.  Allow me to use some visual aids to answer you.

Once you’ve completed these insultingly simple steps, you’re half-way to plating your New-Year-New-Squash meal.  The second half of this process is where you get to cater to the Old You: It’s time to stuff the center with whatever freaky food turns on your taste buds.  Smoked ostrich meat, ghost-pepper salsa, Hamburger Helper (which, according to Cousin Eddie, does just fine by itself), crumbled crabby patties — whatever your hangry, little heart desires.  That’s because acorn squash has such a subtle, versatile flavor that it goes with just about anything.

As a health-conscious chick with a hanger of 7-ish, I opted for a filling that was fast, fresh and frugal. Using a mix of vegetables that were on the verge of spoiling, I quickly sauteed them in a pan sprayed with Pam, added some Italian seasoning, and voila!  My “stuffing” was done in a matter of minutes.

As a finishing touch, I drizzled a little olive oil over the top of the squash and adorned it with some handsome parsley.  Magnifique!  As you eat it, scoop the yellow flesh, mix it with your stuffing, and enjoy the feeling of your taste buds melting.

If you’re particularly adventurous and hangry, eat the green rind, too.  That is, if the rind is fairly thin.  It’s edible but not too enjoyable if the rind is particularly thick.  Keep in mind that this advice is coming from someone who eats peanuts in the shells… whole.

Happy New Year, Old Yous.  Celebrate with an acorn squash, and show us your stuffing!  In future posts, we would love to put your creativity on display.