Saturday, March 29, 2014

Twice Baked and Stuffed Squash

Today is going to be a busy Saturday! I went to bed so early last night, which was amazing! Don't laugh at me. I was laying in bed catching up on shows I missed while I was visiting my family in Chicago last week. I don't think I made it a full half hour in before I was out! It couldn't have been later than 10:30. I can't remember the last time I fell asleep that early on a Friday night! Ah, the joys of being an adult. And I don't even have kids yet! Anyway, back to my day today. I guess because I went to bed so early, that explains why I was waking up at 6:45. My husband and I had a 9:00 AM appointment to get our cars serviced, so it wasn't like we could sleep in anyway. So here I sit, in the lounge, waiting on my car to finish getting her yearly check-up. From here, I'll be heading straight to the gym to tackle the final Open WOD, 14.5. I watched several of my friends struggle through it yesterday, and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little stressed about it. This, by far, seems like it's going to be the worst one! But I'm going to do it and then will be ready to celebrate finishing that bear!

How will I celebrate you ask? Well my girlfriend Lyndsey and I are going to have a girls night out. There's a local restaurant called Miccosuke Root Cellar that has amazing food! It's all locally grown and farmed. The place itself is really tiny, but the atmosphere is stellar, and the wine is even better! Then we're going to let out our inner teenage girl and go see Divergent! Don't know anything about that movie? Well all you need to know is that Theo James is in it. Two hours of eye candy. Yes, please! 

Oh, today is also my nephew's 4th birthday! He lives is Chicago with his parents and grandparents. So sadly, I won't be there to celebrate. But, like I mentioned earlier, I did travel up to there to see them last week. I wish they weren't so far away! Ah well, I guess that's what vacations are for.

Enjoy this recipe guys. I love it because it is super hearty and looks like a lot of work, but is actually pretty simple!

Twice Baked and Stuffed Squash













Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4

Special Tools:
Baking tray
Tin foil
Large frying pan
Large mixing bowl

Ingredients:
2 small-medium acorn squashes
1 lb of ground beef (or pork)
4 strips of nitrate-free bacon
1 medium onion, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
4 eggs
1/2 cup of shredded cheese (optional)
1 and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, divided
1/2 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp of sea salt + a pinch for each egg
1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper + a pinch for each egg

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425. Cut your squashes in half. You can scoop out the seeds now or wait until its soft, which is what I do. 
2. Line a baking tray with foil. Place the squash halves face down on the baking tray and put in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the outer skin gives when you press it. Remove from the oven, turn them over, scoop out the seeds and let it cool for a few minutes. Turn the oven heat down to 375.
3. While your squash is baking though, place the bacon in a large frying pan and cook on medium until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the strips and let them drain on a paper towel, then chop them up.
4. With the rendered fat in the pan, add the ground beef and let it begin to brown for about 10 minutes. As you break up the beef, add in the onion, pepper, garlic (1 tsp) and onion powders, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. If there is a lot of juice in the pan after about 10 minutes, turn up the heat and let it evaporate, or you can drain it.
5. Scoop out the squash into a large mixing bowl (be sure not to pierce or tear the skin or putting it back together will be tricky), and smash the heck out of it with a fork. You could also use a hand blender, but that's up to you!
6.Add in the beef mixture, chopped bacon, and the remaining 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and stir to combine.
7. Spoon the stuffing back into the squash and press down gently in the middle to create a little bowl. 
8. Crack an egg into each of the acorn squash halves, sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over each egg and then top with shredded cheese (optional). I like mozzarella!
9. Place the halves back on the baking tray and put in the oven for about 20 minutes or until your eggs have reached desired doneness. I prefer the white cooked through, but the yolk somewhat runny.
10. Serve immediately. I sliced up half an avocado with mine.

2 comments:

  1. This sounds yummy. Was this a meal for four?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes. Sorry. I forgot that part, but I've since updated it to reflect the servings.

    ReplyDelete