Stuffed Butternut Squash
'Tis the season... to fully embrace the gourd. I whipped this up to satisfy my need to eat a fall-y dinner and it turned out great! I hope to make it even better in the future, but, in the meantime, here's the start. Keep an eye out for adjustments, or comment with your own changes and suggestions!
Stuffed Butternut Squash
1 butternut squash
Ground pork
Brown rice (about 1 ½ cups cooked)
½ head of cauliflower
3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Salt
Pepper
Marjoram (or you could substitute with another herb you prefer)
Trim off the stem and then cut squash in half lengthwise.
Place both halves on tray face down and bake at 375° F for about 45 minutes to an hour or until flesh is soft and then remove from oven and let set until cool enough to touch, but not cold.
While squash is baking start the rice (unless you are using leftover rice)
Place pork in hot pan and season with salt, pepper and marjoram. Then cook until brown (the inside shouldn’t have any pink).
Cut the cauliflower into chunks small enough to later fit in a food processor (or use frozen) and boil until soft-about 5 minutes
Grate mozzarella cheese
Transfer cauliflower to food processor and blend until it’s a smooth consistency.
Add most of the mozzarella (save enough to sprinkle on top) to the food processor and mix to combine.
Once the squash is cool enough to touch, scoop out and dispose of the seeds (or save them, and use them for something else!)
Scoop the rest of the flesh into a large mixing bowl, leaving a little around the edges so that that skin maintains its shape.
Add rice, meat, and cauliflower/cheese mixture to the bowl with the squash meat and mix until combined.
Season to taste
Scoop the mixture back into the skin (like a twice-baked potato)
Top with cheese (you could also add breadcrumbs if you wanted some extra texture)
Broil until the cheese is melted. Watch closely—this will only take a couple minutes