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After studying for a bit, and having a nice chat with my mom, it was time to get dinner started!  This is really one of our favorites and is pretty easy to make.  I also served it with a mango and black bean salad.

I’m a big fan of summer squash and many vegetables can be the perfect vehicle for stuffing practically any kind of filling you can imagine inside.  I use lean ground beef in this recipe, but there is also quinoa, brown rice, cous cous, oatmeal, barley, lentils, and the list goes on and on.  Grains and such have such a wonderful natural binding ability that using them as stuffing can be the perfect compliment to something as neutral and naturally sweet as summer squash.

Plus summer squash cooks relatively quickly which is always a plus! 

Tex Mex Stuffed Squash

(adapted from Everyday FOOD)

Ingredients

Serves 4-5

• 4 yellow summer squashes (try to look for ones more conducive to stuffing)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), diced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• touch of cayenne for a kick
• 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef (96% lean)
• 3/4 cup canned corn (no salt/sugar added)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese + light Mexican cheese blend for sprinkling

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Halve each squash lengthwise; leaving a 1/4-inch border, scoop out halves with a small spoon; roughly chop flesh, and reserve. Place squash halves, skin side down, in a shallow 9×13 baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add reserved chopped squash, bell pepper, scallion whites, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add spices.  Add tomato paste to the center of the pan; cook for at least 5 minutes to intensify the tomato flavor. Add beef; cook until no longer pink, breaking up meat with a spoon.  Cook everything together for about 15 minutes so the flavors really develop and deepen.  Remove from heat. Stir in corn and 1/4 cup Parmesan.

I like to keep tomato paste in little baggies in the freezer since one recipe doesn’t usually call for one of those little cans. I also do this for canned chipotle chilis in adobo 🙂

Spoon mixture into squash halves. Place a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan to help steam the squash (about 1/4 cup).  Cover with aluminum foil, and bake until squash is tender, 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake until top is browned, 12-15 minutes more. Garnish with scallion greens, a dollop of non-fat greek yogurt and a side salad.

If you have any of the filling left over, use it for a quesadilla/tostada, in an omelet, as a layered casserole or in a taco salad.  Lots of possibilities with this easy filling!

We also had a black bean and mango salad on the side, although I was disappointed in the mango because it wasn’t that sweet and colorful like they usually are 🙁  But overall it was still tasty!

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 large red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup canned no-salt/sugar corn
• 1 mango, cubed
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• squeeze of fresh lime (I didn’t have lime but used some rice wine vinegar)
• 1 tsp of honey
• sprinkling of red pepper

All together now!

And then I decided to have a little cinnamon applesauce from TJ’s 🙂

And there you have it!  Overall it was a really great day, I sure enjoy days like this one.  I also need to watch some more Olympics.  I’ve watched a few events, but not too many 🙁  It’s so inspiring and nail biting to watch!  Now it’s time for more studying, and it’s getting really close to hitting the hay, goodnight all!

Have you been keeping up with the Olympics?  What’s your favorite event?