It's All About Squash! Squash! Squash!

I believe we all know what happens when you're a family of three, soon to be a family of four - the need to cut back on costs all ova' the place! While this doesn't seem like a bad idea, family of four or not, it isn't the most enjoyable thing to do, especially when it involves one of my favorite things: food.

About a month ago, the husband and I decided that making a weekly menu would really aid me when compiling my grocery list, because I tend to get carried away with ingredients with the hopes to create new, fun vegetarian meals for the spouse and I. But with all this boring ol budget talk, I have to arrange breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 individuals, one of whom that is not vegetarian. Essentially this means my husband and I make two dinners per night: one for he and I, and one for his meat-eating daughter. This places some strain on the food-budget, so how do we continue to make at least one new, never consumed meal a week? Eating items in season, meaning: SQUASH!!

Baked Acorn Squash with a Quinoa Apple Stir Fry

Looking for a low carb, low fat, low sodium, low low low yet filling meal? Acorn squash has your back!

Recipe Deets

1 acorn squash
1/2 cup of quinoa (prepared)
1 apple (chopped - I used gala)
2 scallions (thinly sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
olive oil for drizzlin'
coriander
sea salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

- cut squash in half, place in baking dish, scoop out seeds, drizzle with olive oil, and salt/pepper the 'thangs
- place in oven for 35 minutes (flesh side down)
- in a frying pan, heat with some fat free olive oil spray
- add scallions and apple and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat
- add quinoa and garlic, season with coriander (to taste)
- fry for approximately 5 more minutes and set aside
- once the squash is done, take it out of the oven, stuff your quinoa mixture on top (see photo above)
- place everything back in the oven for another 10 minutes - feel free to add some shredded cheese!

Voila! Yum-time!

Baked Zero-Sugar Cinnamon and Sugar Butternut Squash w/ an Eggy

This is a classic recipe that I've taken the *ahem* liberty to make "Paula Friendly". Apparently my mother used to make my sister and I brown sugar and cinnamon squash frequently, though I have no recollection of this. Kid-brain-bad :D

Recipe Deets

1 butternut squash
vegan butter (or regular) to taste ! You do not need a lot, about 1/2 tbsp each half
xylitol, stevia, or truvia - any of these plant-based sweeteners will work
cinnamon
eggy

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- cut squash in half and remove insides
- spread the buttuh around
- sprinkle as much cinnamon and sugar as you'd like!
- bake covered for 30 minutes
- bake uncovered for another 20, or until super soft
- fry an egg

BAM! And I promise your home is going to smell amazing. And why the step-daughter didn't wish to try this, I will never know...

Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Meatballs and a Poached Egg 

1 spaghetti squash
2 eggies
1/2 log of Gimmie Lean vegan sausage
1 red bell pepper chopped
cherry tomatoes (halved)
2 cloves garlic
fresh basil
shredded chedda'

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (surprise, surprise)
- cut squash in half, clean the puppy out, and place face down in the baking pan
- bake for 45-50 minutes (the back of the squash may brown, but you need the flesh to be soft)
- as the squash is cooking, take half of your Gimmie Lean log and roll up some mini-meatballs
- put a dab of oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs
- add peppers, tomatoes, and garlic - cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are super wrinkled and soft
- turn heat on low/warm, add basil and cover
- once the squash is done, pull for oven and get ready to poach your eggs!
- add enough water in sauce pan for an egg to have room to float around, for every cup of water add a tsp of vinegar
- bring the water to a boil (not a super crazy boil, but a happy lalala bubbly boil)
- take a slotted spoon and make a "whirlpool" in the pan
- carefully break an egg into the whirlpool and set your timer to 3 minutes
- as the egg is cooking, take a fork and scrape out the inside of the squash onto the plates - it should look like...well...spaghetti (not too much crunch, but a bit al dente)
- top your squash with the vegan meatball mixture, some shredded cheese, and your poached egg!
- if you're doing two plates, create another whirlpool and repeat the eggy process

If my poached egg description was confusing, I'm sure the Internet has a million YouTube pages dedicated to teaching individuals how to poach that perfect egg :>

Enjoy your low carb, low calorie, low fat, high fiber, high nutrient-based dinners, because the husband and I sure do!