Stuffed Acorn Squash

Acorn squash is so delicious and stuffing the squash makes for a great presentation. I found this easy, delicious recipe on The Clean Eating Couple web site. I didn’t peel the apples and I used vegan cheese. Feel free to substitute the ground turkey with another protein or to make it vegetarian add some rice or quinoa and increase the amount of mushrooms.

You Will Need:

2 whole acorn squash cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms chopped
1 cup honey crisp apples peeled + chopped in small pieces
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped finely
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, gruyere or mozzarella all work great!)

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and spray with olive oil to prevent squash from sticking.

3. Slice acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place flat on sheet sprayed with olive oil.

4. Bake the squash for 20 minutes, until it is tender when pierced with a fork.

5. While the squash cooks — heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Sauté turkey in olive oil for 10-15 minutes until brown.

6. While the turkey is cooking, chop mushrooms, apples, and herbs.

7. Add in chopped mushrooms, apples, chicken stock, and spices to the pan with the cooked turkey. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

8. When the squash is done, remove from the oven and scoop out most of the cooked center, leaving a little bit of filling in the acorn squash.

9. Add the squash filling to the turkey/mushroom/apple mixture in the pan and stir until completely mixed in.

10. Scoop the turkey/squash mixture back into the squash and top with cheese of choice.

11. Bake them at 450 for 5-10 minutes until cheese melts. Optional: broil for 2-3 minutes so the cheesy gets crispy.

Reference:

The Clean Eating Couple
Photo by Stephanie Felzenberg