Roasted Squash Toss

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and I ate myself silly. I made Thanksgiving lunch for my Dad. Then, later that day I went over to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. I'll post what I made for lunch in a little bit. For dinner, I decided to make a squash recipe because I have a ton of squash sitting around just waiting to be eaten. I was going to make Ina Garten's Roasted Butternut Squash, but decided to find a recipe that also incorporated Acorn Squash. I came across this recipe from Sunny Anderson and decided to give it a shot. It got really good reviews, so I thought why not. Well, why not indeed. It turned out to be a very tasty and spicy recipe. The only spice in the recipe (other than cinnamon) is red pepper flakes, but it definitely packed a punch. I highly recommend this recipe not just for Thanksgiving, but for any day of the week. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (2 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 (1 1/2 pound) acorn squash, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup almond slivers
1/2 orange, zested and juiced (about 1/3 cup juice and 1 tablespoon zest) (I omitted this ingredient and it still turned out fine)

Preheat your oven to 425. Take out a large bowl and combine the garlic thru the cinnamon. Add in the cubed and peeled squash. Toss together well. Season with salt and pepper. I added about half a teaspoon salt and about 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place the squash on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes. While the squash is roasting; go ahead and take out a saute pan and add the almond slivers to it. Toast at medium heat until the almonds turn a light golden color; about 4 minutes. Be sure to stir often. Remove the squash from the oven and add to a serving bowl along with the slivered almonds. If you're going to use the orange zest and juice; this is the point where you add it. Serve and enjoy.