Chorizo stuffed round zucchini

Our Saturday Farmer's Market has a chorizo that is killer. It is the perfect blend of spices that leaves the meat hot without burning you up. It is savory without lacking the punch. Absolute perfection. I swear by Hilltop Angus Farms products. Grassfed beef is best cooked at lower cooking temperatures and that works nicely with the squash I love to pair with it. A few weeks ago I found these adorable round zucchini squash at the market and knew I needed to find something to stuff in them. Since we are working on making a repertoire of kid appealing foods lately, I made a cute stuffed round zucchini that I am pretty sure would make a kid at least take a few bites. 

Ingredients: Serves 4

• 4 round zucchini or 4 long, fat zucchini
• 1/4 cup onion
• 1/2 lb ground chorizo meat
• 1 extra zucchini for cooking

Recipe:

If using round zucchini, slice the top off about 1/4" down. I used an apple corer to pull out the middle of the zucchini. Set the squash aside. Salt and pepper the cavity. Place in a 350F oven for 15 minutes. If using the long squash, slice out a channel.

In a pan take the meat and begin to cook down on a medium-low heat. Once the meat is mostly done, add the chopped guts of the zucchini, the 1/4 cup of chopped onion and extra squash. Cook until the meat is done.

At this point the oven part should be complete. Remove from oven, place on your serving plate and stuff with the goods. I love to make it overflow so it looks all fancy. Happy eating.

Italian sausage spaghetti squash

  I miss spaghetti sometimes. I love the simplicity of it. I also miss the noodly goodness of it. I love the slurping sounds around the dinner table. I will not claim that the spaghetti squash tastes the same as real pasta but it is easier to cook and tastes great in its own right. This serves 4 and is a pretty cheap way to stretch a dollar. I made this with a little brussel sprout side dish. They go surprisingly well with pasta sauce. 

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 tbl Italian Sausage seasoning blend ( I like the Williams Sonoma)
• 1 cup of chopped frozen spinach
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 can of whole tomatoes, macerated

Cook: 

Poke holes in the spaghetti squash and place in a dish in the microwave. Nuke for 8 -10 minutes. (5 mins per pound). After done, leave in the microwave for another 5 minutes to let it keep steaming. After done, take out and cut in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds and use a fork to drag along the length making your noodles.

In a pan heat brown the meat and add the seasonings and veggies. Cook down for a few minutes while you use a immersion blender or traditional blender to mix the tomatoes to your preferred consistency  Add this to the sauce and turn to low. Cook for another 10 minutes so the flavors mix. 

Take the spaghetti squash and pour into a pasta colander  Squeeze out the extra water. If you don't it will be a bit soupy. If you don't mind that sort of thing, as my picture will attest that I don't, then move right along. Add the sauce to the squash and mangia!