Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Squash |
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Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes |
Ready In: 60 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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I had been planning this recipe out in my head for a while and finally decided to prepare it. I had not used Quinoa before and it sure is a great little grain! My family loved the dish. The spicy sausage and the creole seasoning was a good match to the mild taste of the grain and the squash. My son even asked me to write down the recipe so he could share it with his girl friend. Ingredients:
3/4 cup central market organics quick cook grains quinoa |
1 1/2 cups chicken broth |
3 fresh calabaza squash |
1/4 teaspoon sea salt |
1 lb hot breakfast sausage |
2 -3 roma tomatoes |
2 -3 green onions |
1 celery rib |
1/2 teaspoon tony cachere's original creole seasoning |
1/4 teaspoon black pepper |
1/2 cup shredded colby-monterey jack cheese |
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare Quinoa: Combine Quinoa and broth in 2 quart pan. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Make 2 cups cooked quinoa.
3. Brown sausage: Whle the Quinoa cooks you can brown the sausage in a frying pan until well done and crumbled. Drain off grease. Remove sausage temporarily to a different container. Save the pan to cook the veggies.
4. Prepare squash: For the squash, I chose Calabaza, abt 7 long. w/ a good width for scooping out. Slice each squash in half length-wise. Using a melon baller (or a spoon), scoop out the seeds and pulp from along the center and made a hole/channel to pile the stuffing into. Save about 1/2 cup of the scoops of squash pulp to go in the stuffing. Sprinkle the squash halves very lightly with the sea salt and set aside.
5. Prepare stuffing: Cut the tomato, onions and celery and the 1/2 cup of scooped squash into small pieces. Saute veggies over medium-low heat in the same pan that you browned the sausage with a tiny bit of the grease that you drained off. Season with the Tony Cachere's and black pepper. When veggies are tender, add in the cooked Quinoa and browned spicy sausage. Mix and warm it over low heat. Add the shredded cheese and fold in until melted. Remove from heat.
6. Stuff the squash: Fill the squash halves with spoonfuls of stuffing, trying to evenly divide amonst the squash. Press and shape to have a little dome of stuffing on each.
7. Bake: Arrange squash in a baking dish that can accomodate. Sprinkle a little Tony Cachere's across the squash. Fill bottom of dish with 1/4 inch water. Cover dish with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and fork test the squash, a fork should go into thick part of squash easily. Switch oven to broil setting and place uncovered under the broiler for about 5 minutes.
8. Serve.
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