Healthy & Beautiful!

This recipe was sent to me by two people, Shannon and Austyn.  Both times I really wanted to make it, but got side-tracked.  Shannon re-sent it to me recently after we'd had a discussion about it (read, she made my mouth water talking about making it for her family that week) and I decided to get on it and make it!  It was well worth it!  My family loved it and it was so easy, but looks so beautiful and creative.  My boys especially loved having their own "bowls".  The original recipe is found on the "Eating Well" website, but I made some adaptations and ended up with quite a bit more "stuffing" than necessary for the squash bowls.  What I created with that is coming on a later post.   I bet you are on pins and needles waiting for that one! 

Enjoy some healthy and beautiful food with your family tonight!

Stuffed Acorn Squash 

Ingredients:

3 acorn squash, (3/4-1 pound each)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 medium green bell pepper,chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2  tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed

2 cups corn

1/2 teaspoon salt

Several dashes hot red pepper sauce, to taste

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Method:

1.)  Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2.)  Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out and discard seeds. Place the squash cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. (I cut mine wrong, but it didn't affect anything too much.  I had to slice off the stem ends so the "bowls" would stand on their own.  That seemed to be the only effect of my cutting error.)

3. ) Meanwhile brown ground turkey, with sage & black pepper, in 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce, scraping up any browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes.

4.)  When the squash are tender, reduce oven temperature to 325°. Fill the squash halves with the turkey mixture. Top with cheese. Place on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Click here for printable recipe