Turkey leftovers?
Sure, there's sandwiches, salad and so on.
How about a one-pot meal-in-one you can get ready way ahead and pop it into the oven a few days after Thanksgiving? Something tidy, compact, with a profusion of appealing color? That includes so many food groups?
Like this Stuffed Acorn Squash.
Note: you can make the squash and filling ahead separately. These are good hot or at room temperature.
STUFFED ACORN SQUASH
- 4 small acorn or carnival squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup chopped yellow squash
- 1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked turkey
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 large eggs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down and remove the cap (you can bake it and serve it for decoration). Scoop out the seeds (you can rinse them off and roast them separately to use as a snack). Wrap the squash in aluminum foil and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until tender. Set aside. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. While the squash is roasting, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes, to soften them slightly. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the squash, turkey, spinach, cranberries, breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme and cayenne pepper (if used) and toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Mix in the eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into the baked squash hollows. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 4 servings