“Chelsea, take this home and stuff it with something.”
That’s what I heard from a co-worker referencing a very
large yellow squash in our lunch room in the ‘free to a good home’ area. Seriously, the thing was huge.
After consulting the ladies in my department I felt
comfortable making stuffed squash for dinner that night. I’ve made stuffed zucchini so I figured it
would be kind of similar too.
Here is what I came up with…
Stuffed Yellow Squash
1 Yellow Squash
½ lb to 1 lb ground beef
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes
¼ cup parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
½ cup shredded cheese, plus more for topping
1 ½ cups Italian Bread Crumbs, plus more for topping
Salt & Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the Squash: Cut off the ends of the squash. Cook in the microwave on high for 5 to 10
minutes until knife goes through skin easily.
Remove from microwave with tongs or a hot pad. Slice the long way, and then into sections….remember
that you’re making ‘dishes’ to put all the filling. Using a spoon, discard the seeds and stringy
pieces (looks very much like the inside of a pumpkin). Then, using an ice cream scoop, scrape the ‘meat’
from the skin of the squash and place in a bowl – you’ll later add it to the filling. Place squash skins/dishes in a 9 x 13 pan and
set aside.
Prepare the Filling: Brown hamburger with onion and drain
grease. Remove from heat and add in the
squash ‘meat’, tomatoes, parmesan and shredded cheese, and bread crumbs*. Toss to combine. Scoop the mixture into the prepared squash skins/dishes. Pack down lightly. You’ll most likely have extra filling; just
pour into the 9 x 13 pan as it will not affect the baking. Sprinkle
with a little more parmesan, shredded cheese, and bread crumbs. Bake @ 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or
until golden brown on top. (I like mine
crispy!)
*After the fact I thought maybe the bread crumbs should just
be sprinkled on top, but I liked adding them to the mixture. It made the mixture thicker and added more flavor. You could just sprinkle the bread crumbs on
top and use only ½ cup if you prefer.
I was very pleased with the outcome! I loved the texture and the and the touch sweetness
from the squash. I had leftovers for
lunch today and they were just as good.
The ladies at work said you could pretty much put anything in the
filling – spinach, peas, bacon, mushrooms were just a few of the
suggestions.
Thanks for stopping by!