Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with Ginger-Curry Beef & Quinoa

Gosh, I can't believe that it's been almost 3 months since I last posted here. I had to think for a minute about my log-in name & password...

What happened??? Well, I've been in the rat race... loosing my job, looking for one, finding one (although temporary at this time) & getting acclimated to the completely different environment and hours (I went from railcar manufacturing company in the industrial area to a large law firm downtown). I completely fell off the wagon.

But I did cook, eat and take pictures of my creations...

Well, I'm back and I'm really hoping to stay on track with my postings.

Fall is finally upon us. Today I made the big switch... flannel bed sheets for the regular, winter clothes for my summer outfits in my tiny dresser. We haven't turned on the heat yet, although the house is at the chilly 60 degrees. Every year me & my husband play this game of how long we can go before we turn it on. You'll see us walking around in big sweaters and occasionally Mike puts on a hat. On a "good" year we can go to middle of November. We'll see how this year turns out... I'll keep you posted.

I actually like the cooler weather. It makes a wonderful backdrop to the hearty stews, roasted veggies & braised meats that I have planned out. You can make tons of it, so that means less cooking on a busy weekdays and the leftovers get only better the longer they sit in the refrigerator.

Though today's meal didn't leave many leftovers, it still heated up the kitchen and filled it with the wonderful sweet aroma of roasted squash that's so hard to resist.

Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with Ginger-Curry Beef & Quinoa

2 small Delicata squashes, cut in half lengthwise & seeds scooped out

1/2 lb ground beef

1/3 cup quinoa

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp dry ginger (or of course you can use fresh)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

olive oil, salt & pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub the cut sides of the squash with a little bit of olive oil, then put them cut side down into a small pan, pour in 1/2 cup of water and roast for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat about 1 TBSP of olive oil in a skillet. Add onions & garlic and cook until softened but not browned about 3 - 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and break it up with wooden spoon. When browned, add the ginger & curry powders and about 1 tsp of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the quinoa, cranberries and 1 cup of water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until quinoa is soft and most of the water is evaporated. Taste for seasoning.

Pull out the squash from the oven, sprinkle with salt. Fill the halves with the beef-quinoa mixture and put it back in the oven for another 15 - 20 minutes, until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife and the top is brown & caramelized.

 

 

Comments

[Kay]

Andrea, thank you for posting this recipe! It is fantastic. I used fresh ginger - probably an inch or so grated on a ceramic ginger grater, in place of the dried. I will definitely be making this again. The cranberries picked up the sweetness of the squash perfectly. I used ground elk in place of ground beef, so used a little more olive oil to compensate for how lean the elk meat is.

[Andrea]

Kay, that's awesome that you got to try this. Every once in a while my little creations actually come together right and turn out wonderfully! I definitely keep in mind the fresh ginger substitution. I love Delicatas!