Lamb Stuffed Acorn Squash

We love Winter Squash, but we mostly stick with Spagetti and Butternut Squash. I ventured out a little and decided to use Acorn which I have only prepared a couple of times. I saw a stuffed Acorn squash recipe recently but I didn't take the time to see what they stuffed it with, I just thought the picture looked delicious. I choose to stuff it with lamb because I could season it with spices I thought would be complementary with the Acorn squash, it was!

Ingredients:

2 Acorn Squash

1 pound ground lamb

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp organic worchestershire sauce 

1 tsp sea salt, plus a little.

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp cardamom 

1/2 tsp nutmeg, plus a little.

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

Cut squash in half from top to bottom, scoop out the seeds and season with a little sea salt and nutmeg. 

Mix the lamb with the rest of the ingredients and stuff in the acorn halves.

Place in baking pan, I used aluminum foil to "cup" them so they would sit up straight.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven until the lamb registers 155 degrees F, approximately 1 hour.

These were delicious, but I revisited this recipe and made the following changes:

1. I roasted the halves cut side down for 40 minutes in 375 degree oven.

2. While the halves were roasting, I browned the onions in a little coconut oil, added the meat and seasonings plus 1 tsp of Garam Marsala and browned the meat throughly. Lastly, I turned the heat down to low and put a lid on the pan until the acorn squash was done.

3. Once the squash was cooked, carefully scoop out as much flesh as you can without destroying the shell (you will not remove all of the squash because the shell is very thin).

4. Mix the flesh with the meat mixture and refill the the shells.

5. Top with goat cheese and place in the oven on broil until the cheese is browned a little.

This tastes even better than the original and is a lot simpler.

Roasted Broccoli, Squash, Onions & Carrots

 I'll admit that I never really liked broccoli. I would eat it of course, I just never really liked it. That is before I started roasting it. I am in favor of making sure you have raw fruit and vegetables in your diet but there is something to be said about cooking food. And your cooking method can really make a difference.




 Roasted Broccoli

3 bunches of fresh broccoli
3 cloves of raw garlic, pressed
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper

The roasted broccoli was simple to prepare. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse the broccoli. Cut the florets off of the broccoli stalks and place in a bowl, cut the tender part of the stalk into pieces and add to the florets.  Add pressed garlic and toss. Place in a roasting pan that has been sprayed with oil and drizzle olive oil over the broccoli. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper and roast for 25 minutes or until the edges get a little crispy and enjoy. I have also done this with frozen broccoli, you follow the same process and don't worry about defrosting it first. Be careful not to burn it, the pieces are smaller in the bag.  You can follow this method for a variety of vegetables, the only thing you may change is the seasonings and the length of time you roast.

I served this with Squash, Onions and Carrots.

1 - 32 oz bag of frozen yellow squash
3 large carrots
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 TBSP virgin coconut oil
2 tsp cardamom
2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste

Slice the carrots and cook for 5 minutes in coconut oil, add onion slices and saute for 3 more minutes. Dump the bag of frozen squash on top, turn heat down and place lid on pan. Allow the squash to steam until completely defrosted. Take off the lid and turn up the heat to reduce the liquid in the pan. Add spices and cook until the squash starts to brown a little.

This meal served 4 with no leftovers.