Stuffed Butternut Squash

Original recipe by @wellplated

I tweaked it slightly like this:

Ingredients:

• 2 medium butternut squash
• 2 tsp olive oil — divided
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 6 lightly try cups of chopped kale-stems removed
• 2 cloves garlic — minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp onion salt — plus additional for roasting squash
• 1/2 tsp black pepper — plus additional for roasting squash
• 1 can chickpeas — (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
• Zest of 1 orange — plus 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat the  oven to 425 degrees F. Halve the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds, then arrange them on a baking tray, cut sides up. Drizzle with 1 Tsp olive oil & sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper. Bake 45-55 minutes, just until it is fork tender. Remove from oven and let cool.

Cook quinoa in the broth covered for 12 minutes or until broth is mostly absorbed. Remove from the heat & let sit, covered, for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tsp oil. Add the kale & cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Cook until fragrant. Stir in the chickpeas, orange zest, orange juice, cooked quinoa, walnuts & cranberries.

Once the squash is cool enough to handle,scoop out the flesh, leaving the borders to desired thickness.

Stuff the kale quinoa filling into the squash halves and serve.

Try it out and let me know how you like it. Share your recipe if you tweak it and I would love to try it out next time.

XoXo 

Zeeya J