Ground Beef & Apple Filled Acorn Squash

Ingredients

• Ground beef

  80% lean meat / 20% fat, raw

  16 oz or 454g

• Squash

  Winter, acorn, raw

  2 squash (4 inch dia) or 862g

• Salt

  Table

  1 ½ tsp or 9g

• Cinnamon

  Spices, ground

  ½ tsp or 1g

• Apples

  With skin

  2 cup, quartered or chopped or 250g

• Raisins

  Seedless

  ¼ cup (not packed) or 36g

• Brown sugar

  4 tbsp or 36g

• Butter

  Salted

  2 tbsp or 28g

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Cut each of the squash in half and remove the seeds and fibers.
2. Place the squash, cut sides down, in an ungreased baking pan, then add water to the depth of 1/4-inch and bake, uncovered, until the squash is tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.
3. While the squash is baking, cook and stir the meat in a large skillet until it is brown. Drain off the excess fat.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the 1 1/2 tsp of salt as well as the cinnamon, the coarsely chopped tart apples and the raisins.
5. When the squash is cooked, turn them so that the cut side is up and remove them to a platter. Drain off any remaining liquid in the pan and dry.
6. Scoop out the pulp from the acorn squash, making a shell that is 1/4-inch thick all the way around. Season the shells with salt to taste.
7. Mash the pulp and mix in the meat mixture. Return to the shells, piling them full and sprinkle with 1 tb of brown sugar on each.
8. Drizzle with the melted butter. Bake uncovered until the apple is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

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