Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

This was the first year I grew Patty Pans out in my garden.  I bought the seeds because the squash looked so pretty - I didn't have a clue what I would do with them !

After some online searches - I knew I'd be making my own recipe up - most everything I found online used bacon, and we do not eat pork in my family.

This turned out SOOOO well - even the kids loved it.  I had leftover rice - so it worked out perfectly - so schedule this on your menu a day after you serve something with rice !

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

4 Patty Pan Squash
1 Onion
3 cloves of Garlic (I used 5)
1/2 pepper  (any type - I used a semi-hot pepper sliced really thin)
salt and pepper
1 LB ground lamb (you could use beef or turkey)
1 bunch cilantro
Cumin
Turmeric
1-2 cups precooked rice
Parmesan Cheese




Cut the tops off your squashes, - I threw mine away, but I guess you could save it for a garnish?  I hollowed out the seeds with a spoon, then took out most of the flesh in a separate bowl to cook with the stuffing.  I coated the insides of each squash with olive oil, flipped them upside down on a cookie sheet (with the hole facing down) and stuck them in a 350* oven - for about 20 minutes.  While they were cooking, I sauteed an onion, then added some garlic, and 1/2 a pepper sliced very thinly.  After they were soft, I added Cumin and Turmeric, the flesh from the squash cut into small bite size pieces,  then I added a pound of lamb meat (plenty of filling for 4 large Patty Pans).  After the lamb meat was cooked through, I added in the rice until it was all combined.  After everything was cooked and well combined, I turned off the heat and added the chopped cilantro.   Once the Patty Pans felt soft and the outside edges were browned, I took them out of the oven, stuffed them, sprinkled some Parmesan Cheese on top - and threw them back in the oven - which I then turned off - I let them sit for about 15 minutes while the oven cooled - and when I took them out - they looked just like the picture above, and tasted delicious.

Squash in the Crock Pot

Tons of squash coming in

- figured I'd try something new.  I took one of my smaller banana squashes, washed it, sliced and seeded it - and threw it in the crock-pot with some mango juice, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.  I sprayed the crock-pot first, but left the peels on the squash - so it doesn't fall apart.

I'll give feedback after it's done !

EDIT #1 - with the Mango Juice - it was awesome - the hubster couldn't get enough.  I made it again the second time and used Orange Juice - failure.  I could tell he didn't like it, he didn't go back for seconds, it sat in the fridge for a couple days so I discreetly threw it out.  I have plenty more to experiment on - but won't be using OJ again !

Day One - Cleanse and Green Food

To cleanse I'm using Senna I purchased at Amazon.  I've heard you can also buy fresh Senna leaves at health food stores - but since we don't have any of those - I did my research and these seem to have the best feedback.   Now on the bottle it says to only take 2-3 each day - but that's to relieve constipation.   I'm leaning more towards detoxing - check out this bodybuilding site - I doubt if I'll go as high as taking 5 tablets every three hours, but until I'm feeling "cleaned out" - I'll keep taking the Senna.

Also - I'm not real big on fruits and veggies.  I love a salad with grilled chicken, but I still want some dressing on it.  So - to supplement getting enough fiber - I did more and more research, and the very best substitute turns out to be Green Superfood.   I purchased this large jar for daily use, but I also purchased I'm just trying my first one now - although the powder was green - it does taste like Orange Creamsycle - I mixed mine with skim plus milk (lactose free) and ice and use my The smoothie does have a hint of orange creamcycle taste to it, and no grittiness using the ninja blender. Speaking of..... I love the ninja because my daughter goes to lots of away swim meets and it's much easier to take on the road. I have a Vitamix at home for larger smoothies and bigger jobs at home. If I didn't have the Vitamix, I'd probably have purchased the kitchen set Ninja. There was also one that shredded veggies - a great idea - but I have an attachment for my Kitchen Aide mixer for that !! I'll report back later as to how I'm feeling !