Stuffed Acorn Squash

This past weekend, I picked up a 40 lb box of winter squash. I started dreaming of all the dishes I could make with the squash. I have squash bread, squash soup and squash muffins on the list but I knew I wanted to start with my favorite way to serve squash, Stuffed Squash. I am a true squash lover even if the rest of my family is not.

Last night I decided to make something to convince them that squash is the best food. I took two acorn squash and stuffed them with sausage, onions, apples, mushrooms and dried tart cherries. The filling reminded me of a good stuffing without the bread which means this is a great dish for those who are gluten-free or doing a Whole30 (leave out the cheese if you are Whole30ing). 

I wish I could report back that the family gobbled up the squash and said I had convinced them but their distain for squash runs deep. They did however love the stuffing and asked for more. The chickens loved the left-over squash and I loved the entire package. If you have a deep love for squash, this is the dish for you! 

Stuffed Acorn Squash



by Rebecca Mongrain

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes




6080030



Ingredients (4 servings)

2 large acorn squash
1 large onion, diced
1 large apple, diced
1/4 cup dried tart cherries
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
14 oz sweet Italian chicken sausage
4 oz chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
6 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste




Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray the cut sides of the squash with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place face down on a large baking sheet. Bake until tender and browned on the edges, about 40 minutes.

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil before adding onion and cooking over medium heat until brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove onion and place aside.

Place sausage in saute pan and brown before adding cooked onion, apple, mushrooms and dried cherries and cooking over medium low heat for about 10 minutes.

Once the squash is cooked, fill them with the sausage mixture. Make cure to pack the filling in tight. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10 additional minutes until the cheese is melted and the squash are golden.


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Chickpea Curry Vegetable Stew

I was first introduced to this stew shortly after having Maggie. One of my friends called and told me that she wanted to bring me some food. She said she was bringing over a veggie stew that was not only delicious but also great for post-partum mothers (due to the fenugreek). I have to admit that I was apprehensive. I'm a die-hard meat eater and am unfairly suspicious of vegetarian fare. I am however not one to turn down a well intentioned act and so I took the soup. 

I had it for lunch that day as I was hungry and it was there. I took one bite and was won over. This is one stew that does not need meat at all. In fact, meat might just ruin the deliciousness of this dish.  Served over quinoa, this is a hearty, winter meal that I might just keep eating through the spring. 

I ended up eating two huge bowls of this stew that day. I had the rest of the stew for lunch over the next few days and never shared a single bite with Scott. 

When my turn came to bring a dish to a new mother from co-op, I quickly decided to make this stew. She raved about the stew and so I knew I needed to share it here. I made a few tweaks to my friend's recipe but only because I can't leave well enough alone. 

Chickpea Curry Vegetable Stew



by Rebecca Mongrain

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes




6061146



Ingredients (6 cups)

2 cans chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
2 cups chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth to make this vegetarian)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
4 cups chopped kale (approx 1 bunch)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground fennel seed
1 tsp ground fenugreek seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup coconut milk




Instructions

In a medium saucepan, heat the chickpeas, bay leaf and broth on medium heat.

Heat the olive oil on medium in a large dutch oven and sauté the garlic, ginger and mustard seeds for approximately 5 minutes.

To the dutch oven, add the sweet potatoes, carrots and celery. Sauté for 5 more minutes.

Add the spices and cook for a minute to heat through.

Add the kale and cook until it wilts.

Remove the bay leaf from the beans. Add the beans, broth and coconut milk to the dutch oven. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender.

Serve over Quinoa.


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Gluten Free Sweet Potato Mini Muffins

I recently had some friends in town and when they left, they dropped off some food they had left over from the weekend. The strangest thing that they dropped off was some jars of pureed sweet potato baby food. The wife said the husband read it was good as a snack after exercising. I said, Hmmm ok. I put the jars in the pantry and promptly forgot about them. Then this week a friend told me that she might have to go gluten-free and I got to thinking about lower carb muffins. I've been wanting to play around with non-traditional flours and I hate to let food languish in the pantry. I grabbed my almond flour and the sweet potato puree and started experimenting. 

I came up with this sweet potato, banana, carrot mini muffin that Molly devoured when she woke up from her nap. It does not have the same texture as a regular wheat muffin but I liked it. I might have had a few myself, for testing purposes. 

I'm trying out a new recipe index system from ReciPage so please excuse me if this looks funky. Do let me know what you think! I like that you can  print and email the recipes. 

Sweet Potato Gluten-Free Muffins

by Rebecca Mongrain

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Keywords: bake snack gluten-free

Ingredients (24 mini muffins)

• 2- 4 oz jars pureed sweet potato baby food (or 1 cup sweet potato puree)
• 1 cup carrot, finely shredded
• 1 medium banana
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Prep your mini muffin pan by greasing the cups with coconut oil. Set aside.

Using your food processor, puree the sweet potato puree, banana and shredded carrot together until smooth.

Add the vanilla, eggs, oil and maple syrup to the puree and process a few times.

In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, ground flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt together. Briskly whisk together.

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir until smooth.

Add a tablespoon or so of the mixture to your prepared muffin tin and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let the muffins cool on a cooling rack.

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