Alrighty then. Thanksgiving’s over, so what do we have? Leftover turkey!! I think many would argue that Thanksgiving leftovers may be the best part about the Thanksgiving feast. So, when you’re finally hungry again after the gorge-fest that was Thursday, here’s a deliciously different, and healthy way to take care of some of those leftovers.
I love acorn squash, and stuffing it like this with a savory mixture of healthy quinoa, leftover turkey, cranberries, and some feta cheese (along with some other goodies) makes for a deliciously simple dinner. Pair it with a salad, and you’re good to go.
I started by roasting my squash. I sliced each small squash in half and scooped out the seeds, as well as a little bit of the flesh. I wanted to make sure that each half had a decent space for a satisfying amount of the quinoa stuffing.
Once the halves were cleaned out, I brushed each piece with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and placed them in a baking dish. Then, they roasted in the oven for about 45 minutes, until they were nice and tender.
While the squash was roasting, I cooked up my quinoa in some chicken broth, to add a little more flavor. While that was cooking, I diced up some onion and celery, tossed it with a little bit of olive oil and microwaved it for a few minutes, just to soften it up a bit. I also chopped up some of my leftover thanksgiving turkey, and some fresh thyme.
When the quinoa was done, I tossed it together with the softened veggies, turkey, thyme, some dried cranberries and a little reduced-fat feta cheese.
When the squash was fork tender, I carefully scooped a hefty amount of stuffing into each squash half, making sure each half was chock full of all of the goodies. There was some leftover stuffing, and I had it for lunch the next day. Don’t get rid of the leftover leftovers!
Before popping them back into the oven for a few minutes, I combined some Panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of olive oil, and the sprinkled the mixture over the tops of the stuffing.
Then, the now stuffed squash went back into the oven for a few minutes, just to heat the stuffing through and toast up the breadcrumbs on top.
Mmmmm….Happy Thanksgiving Leftovers, to you and yours.
ACORN SQUASH STUFFED WITH TURKEY, QUINOA, CRANBERRIES AND FETA
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Turkey, Quinoa, Cranberries and Feta
Recipe Type: Dinner/Side
Cuisine: Holiday
Author: Christine Carlisle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
- 2 small acorn squash
- olive oil, for brushing the squash
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 cup diced cooked turkey (chicken would work too!)
- 1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup reduced-fat Feta cheese
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat the oven to 400*F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Slice each squash in half, and scoop out the seeds, and some of the flesh, to create a nice pocket for your stuffing.
- Brush each squash half with a little bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place the squash halves, skin side down, into the prepared baking dish. Roast for 40-45 minutes, until you can easily pierce the flesh with a fork.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package in the 2 cups of chicken broth.
- Combine the onion and celery with 1 tsp. olive oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on HIGH for 3 minutes, just to soften them up a bit.
- When the quinoa is cooked, scoop it into a medium sized bowl. Add in the chopped turkey, celery and onion, thyme, cranberries, and feta. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- When the squash is cooked, heap the stuffing into each squash half. (Save the leftover stuffing for tomorrow’s lunch.)
- In a small bowl, combine the Panko, Parmesan and 1 tsp. olive oil. Sprinkle this mixture over the tops of the stuffed squash.
- Return the squash to the oven and bake, just until the stuffing is heated through and the breadcrumbs begin to toast up, about 5 more minutes.
- ENJOY!
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