zuccini | I Crashed The Web

This recipe comes from another attempt to take B up on his new offer “to try anything that I make even if it’s vegetables” (including vegetables he doesn’t like, like squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, chard, arugula … the list really just goes on).

I’d call this one a hit. B ate his whole half-stuffed squash (along with some chicken) and mine made a perfect dinner. I made the whole recipe (2 squashes = 4 servings) and had leftovers the rest of the week for lunch. I kid you not, I think it got better each consecutive day!

vegetarian stuffed acorn squash

Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash (from Eating Well)

Here’s what you need:

2 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 tsp plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup tomato sauce (homemade is always the best!)
8 cups chopped chard leaves (about 1 large bunch)
1 15-ounce can white beans or chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Here’s what you do:

Cut each acorn squash in half and remove seeds. It’s easiest to do this if you microwave each squash for 40 seconds first – it will make them soft enough to cut in half.
Cut a small slice off the bottom of each squash half so it rests flat. Brush the insides with 1 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place in a 9-by-13-inch (or large enough) microwave-safe dish. I used a pyrex so I could also put it in the oven. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on High until the squash is fork-tender, about 12 minutes.
While squash is microwaving, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring, until starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add garlic to cooking onion and cook for about 1 minutes. Stir in water, tomato sauce and the remaining salt and pepper.
Stir in chard, cover and cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in white beans and olives; cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
Preheat broiler. I put mine at 500 degrees F.
Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl. Remove squash from microwave (they should be fully cooked) and fill each squash half with about 1 cup of the chard mixture. If not already in a broiler-safe dish, place in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Broil in the center of the oven until the breadcrumbs are browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
Enjoy! Serve alone or as a side dish.

ingredients vegetarian stuffed acorn squash

Here’s what you need

vegetarian stuvegetarian stuffed acorn squashffed acorn squash

Fill microwaved squash with bean mixture.

Serve with a side salad!

My friend Alisa was in town from Finland (yes, the country) last week for a few days. She’s a friend from high school – and was one of my bridesmaids – and I hadn’t seen her since my wedding more than a year ago! Trips back from Finland are hard to make – it’s expensive and long – so Alisa doesn’t get to make it back to the U.S. to see her family in NY often. That’s why I was excited to hear she was going to make the trip not only to the U.S., but also from NY to Cleveland with her boyfriend to see me!

It was a quick trip – and during the week, so I was working during the day – but I’m so glad I got to see Alisa and meet her boyfriend Jiri. We planned a few fun Cleveland activities for them – local food, visiting the lake, checking out the public library, taking the bus to University Circle to see the art museum – to see the city. We ate dinner at Greenhouse Tavern one night (Alisa and Jiri are very into Farm to Fork, local food, etc.), but the second night Jiri requested something American – steak! So I tried to think of a fun side dish to serve with our steak and mashed potato dinner that B was making, that was also gluten free, since Jiri had just started a GF diet.

I found it! This recipe had shown up in one of my daily Real Simple emails and I had printed it out to try sometime – and although it doesn’t shout “serve me with steak and potatoes,” I did. And it was great! It was also great leftover with my lunch the next day.

quinoa stuffed zucchini (gluten free and vegetarian)

Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini (slightly modified from Real Simple)

The original recipe says one serving is one zucchini – if this is your meal, I’d agree, otherwise a half a zucchini will serve perfectly as an accompaniment to a main dish. Yields 8 half stuffed zucchinis.

Here’s what you need:

½ cup quinoa
4 medium zucchini
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or chick peas
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ c pine nuts (original recipe called for chopped almonds, but I only had pine nuts on hand)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ c diced onion
¾ c grated parmesan cheese
4 tbs olive oil

Here’s what you do:

Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
Cook quinoa according to directions. (you’ll probably need to combine quinoa with 1 c. water and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Once boiled, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 13-15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is soft.
While quinoa is cooking, cut zucchini in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Assemble zucchini halves in a large baking dish, skin side down and cut side up.
Quarter cherry tomatoes, chop garlic and dice onion.
After the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork. Mix in the canned beans, cut tomatoes, pine nuts, chopped garlic and diced onion.
Add in ½ c of the parmesan cheese and 3 tbs of the oil.
Spoon the quinoa mixture into the zucchini.
Top the zucchini with the rest of the oil and parmesan cheese.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake 25-30 minutes, or until zucchini is tender to a fork. Remove foil and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes until the top is slightly golden.