Beef-Stuffed Acorn Squash

I'm cooking again, but I keep forgetting to finish and publish the posts.  It's a work in progress.

I got this idea from the Mad Hausfrau.  She put different things in hers and cut the squashes cuter, but it's pretty much the same.  This recipe also works with any squash with a seed hollow.  You could do it with pumpkin, butternut, or any of the odd hard-rined squashes that are appearing in the markets this month.

The tater tots and a trip to IHOP finally put the weight back on, so I'm back to eating a bit healthier and smaller portions.  Their pumpkin-cinnamon roll pancakes were very good, though.  Hausfrau's recipe calls half a squash a serving, while I did 1/4 of a large one.  It depends if you're having any side dishes.  I just had a bit of bread and butter on the side, since most of this dish is veggies.

1 large acorn squash
3/4 lb 80/20 ground beef
1/2 C diced onion
1 C frozen mixed veggies
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of nutmeg

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place squash on a baking sheet.  Pierce in a few places to prevent explosions and roast until softened, 45 minutes.  Set aside to cool a bit, but leave the oven on.

2.  In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.  Once it gives up enough fat, add the diced onion to the pan.  When the onion is softened, add remaining ingredients.  Cook until veggies are done, about 5 minutes.  Set aside while you cut up the squash.

3.  Cut the cooked squash in half to expose the seed hollow.  Scoop out the seeds and strings.  You can clean and roast them if you like.  Fill the hollows with the beef mixture.  There's going to be some left over.  Keep it warm for a bit.

4.  Put the filled squash halves back in the oven and roast for an additional 10 minutes.  This will allow some of the beef fat to soak into the squash so you don't need to add butter.

5.  Cut each half in half again and serve, with a scoop of the reserved meat mixture on the side.

Difficulty rating  :)