Southwestern Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

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The hubs and I have been trying to eat healthy and wanted to try something new. I’ve made stuffed peppers in the past and we loved them, so I decided to try making stuffed acorn squash. I didn’t really have a recipe to follow, so I just had fun with experimenting, and was happy with the results. They turned out very flavorful & were very filling! Will definitely be making these again!

Here is the recipe of what I did. Feel free to make your own adjustments & experiment! You could also easily make these vegetarian friendly by simply not adding the ground turkey.

Southwestern Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

(Yields 4 stuffed acorn squash halves. Total prep/cook time approximately 1 hour)

What You’ll Need: 

  1. 2 Small Acorn Squashes, cut in half lengthwise with seeds removed
  2. 1 – 1 ¼ lb Ground Turkey
  3. 1 Red Bell Pepper
  4. 1 Green Bell Pepper
  5. 1/3  White Onion
  6. 1 Cup Uncooked Quinoa (I used tricolor quinoa)
  7. Olive Oil
  8. 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  9. Cilantro
  10. ½ tsp onion powder
  11. ½ tsp garlic powder
  12. ½ tsp cumin
  13. ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  14. 1 tsp paprika
  15. Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Place acorn squash halves cut side up onto a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Bake 45 minutes.

While acorn squash is roasting, prepare your stuffing. Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to package instructions. Chop your onions & peppers. Combine with ground turkey in large sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat until meat is browned. Once quinoa is ready, mix that in with the turkey mixture and add all of the spices, and salt & pepper to taste. Set mixture aside.

Once acorn squash halves are ready, pull out of oven and stuff with the turkey/quinoa mixture. Top with shredded cheddar cheese (spread evenly amongst the four halves). Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender.

Then just top with cilantro & serve. Bon Appetit!

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