Acorn Squash with Apples and Ground (Beef)

We've been expanding our horizons quite a bit with food the past few months, and this week was no exception. After completely going anti-paleo over the weekend at Ray's MTB Indoor Park in Cleveland (think potatoes, Chipotle, rice, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory) we got back to it this week, and tried out something new: acorn squash.

Justin and I both looked up recipes online and came up with two that were similar.

Ingredients (at least this is what we had):

1 acorn squash
1~lbs ground sirloin
1/2 sweet onion
clove of garlic
2 apples
Cinnamon/brown sugar to taste




While I was on the trainer (notice a pattern??) Justin cooked.

Slice the acorn squash in half, removing the pulp and seeds. Place cut sides down and bake @400F in a shallow baking pan with a little water covering the bottom for about 30 minutes, or until tender.

Once the squash was in the oven he sliced and diced the onion, pressed the garlic, and sautee'd both in a little extra virgin olive oil.



Once warmed, he browned the sirloin in the onion/garlic mix, draining the fat once done.

Remove this from the heat and add in your seasoning and the diced apples. When the squash is cooked, remove to a platter to cool so you can scoop out the squash pulp.

Be sure to leave 1/4-1/2" thick "shell" with the outside of the acorn squash.

Mash the pulp and stir in with the beef mix.



Return the "stuffing" to the acorn shells and bake uncovered 20-30 minutes or until apples are tender.



Serve!



Our one acorn squash made dinner (with grilled asparagus) and lunch leftovers.

It's pretty sweet and savory all at once. I really enjoyed the apples in with this!

Grilled Scallops and Veggies on a bed of Baby Spinach

To whet your appetite



I hope to get all this right. See, while my husband was busy making me a 5-star meal, I was actually sweating away to "The Bourne Supremacy" doing a long drills session on the trainer. It smelled really good, though.

Last week we got scallops at Henry's, and Justin paired those with yellow squash, zucchini, asparagus, baby spinach, and red onion to make a super savory meal. I think it all took less than an hour, also.

No leftovers, sadly! Except a few slices of squash and zucchini.

Ingredients:

1-2 yellow squash
1-2 zucchini
1 bunch of asparagus
1lbs of scallops
1-1.5 lemons (fresh, but the pre-packaged juice is probably also fine)
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Garlic powder
Seafood seasoning (or similar)
Organic no salt seasoning (or similar)





First, slice the squash and zucchini into grillable units



Marinade (I'd say 20-30 minutes is probably fine) the scallops in olive oil with the seafood seasoning, lemon juice, and a bit of garlic powder



Marinade the asparagus with olive oil, organic no salt, and garlic powder, along with a few splashes of lemon juice



Press, or finely chop, your garlic and put in a frying pan on the stove with olive oil to lightly cook the baby spinach and onions in a bit





Grill, for just a few minutes a side, the squash and zucchini



Cook the baby spinach, garlic, and onion medium heat on the stove for probably 10 or so minutes (watch it and remove from heat once done to your preference)



Grill the asparagus, turning to even done-ness



Grill scallops for about 3-4 minutes a side to ensure even cooking



Serve for your loved one!