Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash

Main Dishes

Well it’s somehow November, which I’m in denial about, but the good news is that it’s finally time to share squash recipes! I actually buy winter squash out of season occasionally (yep, I’m a bad food blogger…) because sometimes I crave it even in the middle of the summer. But, I’ve managed to resist posting any recipes until now, since I figured it would be best to wait until other people were pining for squash too!

Stuffed acorn squash is one of my favorites because you can combine your veggies, protein, and starch all into one cute portable package. I really enjoyed this Moroccan inspired version because I liked the way the spiced ground turkey and sweet squash and golden raisins complemented each other. And the quinoa and spinach pack a nutritional punch, which is much needed after you’ve spent several weeks indulging on various cakes and scones!

Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
5 acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise with seeds and pulp removed
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 red onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup golden raisins
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place squash cut side down on two large cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375˚F for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, place quinoa and chicken stock in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.

Place onion and ground turkey in a large nonstick skillet and use a spoon to break up ground turkey. Heat over medium high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until turkey is browned and cooked through and onions are tender. Add garlic, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg and cook one additional minute, stirring frequently. Add spinach and stir until well combined.

Stir cooked quinoa, sausage mixture, raisins, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl. Pile quinoa and sausage mixture evenly into cooked squash. Makes 10 servings.

Nutrition: 343 calories, 6.1g fat, 6.6g fiber, 17.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.54 per serving

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

It’s Wednesday night, and if all goes well, this post will go live on Friday. I’m leaving for San Diego early tomorrow morning for another work conference and thought I’d see how the scheduled post function works! Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be all...

Spicy Soba Noodles with Sesame Stick Coated Chicken and Broccoli Slaw

Today’s recipe is brought to you by the letters T and J. I love to gush about the unique products at Trader Joe’s and often find inspiration just wandering their aisles. Last weekend I stumbled upon this prepackaged organic broccoli slaw. I’m not a huge cabbage fan,...

Halloween Pumpkin Quesadillas

I apparently have a bit more Martha in me than I’ve previously appreciated because when I stumbled upon some habanero lime flour tortillas at Trader Joe’s the other night, my eyes got wide with excitement and I squealed, “they’re orange, they have bright orange...

Maple Pecan Salmon over Roasted Potato, Apple, and Bacon Hash

I don’t usually buy a lot of produce at Costco, since it’s tough for just the two of us to eat our way through their large packages of fruits and veggies before it all spoils (although I do regularly make an exception of their Brussels sprouts and berries because we...

Gnocchi with Pancetta, Mushrooms, and Gruyere

Apolinaras and I finally checked out Foundry on Elm, a newish hot spot in our neighborhood, on one of our recent date nights. It was packed on the Tuesday evening we went and we could see why after we tried the creative cocktails. Mine was called the Bee’s Knees and...

Mediterranean Chicken Sausage and Chickpea Skillet

We’re back! Our trip to Lithuania was amazing and I’m going to work on sorting through all our pictures this weekend so I can share a recap with you. There were two things I couldn’t wait to do once we returned home though – one was sleeping in our own bed because we...

Pancetta and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts

We just got back from our annual lab ski trip, where stayed in a huge house up in New Hampshire and hit the slopes and snowshoeing trails at Mount Sunapee. We all had a great time relaxing, hanging out, and enjoying some incredible meals. Everyone signed up to make a...

Mediterranean Couscous

Some things are just meant to be. A couple of weeks ago I was jogging through Harvard Square when I heard someone calling my name. I was disoriented for a second, but when I turned around, I was surprised to see that it was my friend Rashmi from college – crazy, huh –...