Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place your rice into a  fine mesh strainer. Run the rice under running water and rinse thoroughly.

Add rice to a  saucepan and cover with water. Over medium heat, bring rice to a boil and then cook for about 40 minutes or until rice has desired texture. Once the rice is finished, add to strainer and rinse thoroughly.

While the rice is cooking, vertically cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place onto the baking sheet cut side down and roast for about 20 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is soft.

Next, chop carrot, garlic cloves and onion. Add to a frying pan over medium heat and saute until they are soft and onions are golden, then remove from heat.

Once the squash is finished cooking, let it cool enough to handle and then scoop out most of the flesh. Leave enough so that the skin can still hold its shape.

Add sautéed vegetables and the chopped squash flesh to cooked wild rice. Mix in chopped almonds, dried cranberries, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

Taking a spoon, scoop the desired amount of wild rice pilaf into the skin of the squash and serve.