Friday, August 2, 2013

Vegan Recipe: Southwestern Stuffed Butternut Squash

Since we are a vegan company, I thought I'd share with you a new recipe I tried recently!

First, let me explain to you how I fell in love with butternut squash. I went 23 years of my life without tasting a butternut squash.

I could eat you up right now.
I know. How on earth did I do that?

Well, my mom had never been much of a cook.{Sorry if you are reading this mom...you are good at other stuff though lol}. And most of my family in rural Indiana were traditional "steak & potatoes" kind of people. So I've not had much opportunity to encounter this weird yellow vegetable.

That being said, my mother actually is the one I now have to thank for my new favorite food's discovery.

She recently gave me some yellow squash that her neighbor gave her from their garden. She's not one to experiment in the kitchen, which is how I ended up with them. She knew she wouldn't use them, so she passed them on to the daughter who's husband is a chef. Plan seems legit to me. 

But I'm so thankful she shared them with me! Because now I can share this recipe with you!

Here's where I found the recipe I based MY RECIPE on...Click Here For Original Recipe.

Southwestern Stuffed Butternut Squash 


{Serves 4}

Ingredients
2 Butter Nut Squashes
1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
1/2 cup diced onion **Quick Tip: Use frozen diced onion! Super convenient for recipes like this!
1 teaspoon minced garlic 
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can of corn (drained)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Vegan Cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Halve and seed butternut squash. Hollow out your squash just a bit to make room for your stuffing. 
Happy little squash boat!

3. Lightly brush with olive oil.
4. Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 30-40 minutes with the skin side down. To check if it's ready, pierce it with a fork. It should be soft.
Getting all hot and awesome in there. 
5. While those are baking, saute your onions and minced garlic in a pan for 3 minutes.
6. Next, add your bell peppers, corn, and spices and saute for 5 more minutes.
7. Finally add the beans and sir, sauteing for a 3 more minutes.
You can totally eat just this stuffing with some rice. Legit. It's the best.
8. When squash is finished, fill with stuffing mix and then sprinkle vegan cheese on top before returning to the oven for 5-10 minutes.

When it's all done, I found putting it in a bowl was the easiest route. That's it! Eat up!

I devoured this stuff. 
Have you tried this recipe? 
Let us know what you think!