If you’re anything like me, you relish the thought of cooler air, changing leaves…and all of the wonderful (albeit fattening) foods of the fall and winter months.  A cook’s thoughts turn towards braises, roasted meat and poultry, and let’s face it – those yummy side dishes that we allow ourselves to savor only during the holidays.

How can we still enjoy those fabulous comfort foods without throwing our healthy food routines down the drain?  I am a firm believer in getting the most “bang from your calories”.  Using a little bit of foods that a healthy eater may consider taboo can transport an okay dish to a fabulous one.  Try to think of creative ways to get more flavor out of your traditional winter dishes – but not necessarily loads more calories.

Here’s to the autumn and its bounty, to winter for its lush and festive foods. Here’s to eating well and to cooking well.  Enjoy this stuffed winter squash with a roasted chicken for a weeknight meal, add it to your menu for your Thanksgiving feast or serve at lunch for a filling and healthy main course.

To ramp up the flavors I have used a small bit of pancetta, which is an Italian bacon that has a tremendous salty, smoky flavor.  And to help the dish’s flavors meld together, I’ve added some heavy cream.  Small amounts of high flavor items make an ordinary pumpkin taste out of this world!

Look for “pie pumpkins” at your grocery store.  They are more flavorful and have a much nicer texture than a “jack-o-lantern” pumpkin.  Acorn squash is an excellent substitute as well.  Here I show you a large acorn squash that I cut in two and stuffed.  You could make individual small acorn squashes cooked in crème brulee ramekins to make it an extra special holiday side dish.  Adding a small amount of cooked turkey Italian sausage makes this a hearty one-dish (or one pumpkin) meal.

Kim Duhamel is a former cooking instructor who lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with her husband and pug.  She has three married children and one granddaughter.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts and an Associate’s degree in the Culinary Arts from NWACC. After being sidelined for about a year with a neck injury, she hopes to get back to teaching in 2016.