Enchilada Stuffed Squash (Easy Summer Dinner)

This Enchilada Stuffed Squash is a great  use of the squash from your garden. Fun dinner for the kids as you use the squash as a bowl! Another easy, healthy and tasty recipe!

Last year when we made our annual trip to Shields Herb Farm, I picked up a delicata plant and was SO in love with those squashes because they made the best fries (check out this post if you are interested). This year that was top on my list but alas they didn’t have any. So I bought a sunburst or pattypan squash. I am not up on my various kinds of squashes but thought I’d try it. They are growing like wildfire and I had to come up with something to make out of them. So I thought I’d stuff them with a chicken enchilada mixture and bake with cheese. These little squashes make the best bowls and you can eat the entire thing. It’s a summer squash so the skin is edible. Perfect summer meal for me and my family.

Here are a few of the squashes from the prolific plant. Aren’t they lovely? I think in retrospect I would pick them to be about 5 inches in diameter next time. The bigger ones are almost too big and the smaller ones don’t hold enough.

I just used a spoon to clean out the insides. They have rather large seeds that I’m sure you could roast if you are so inclined.  Next I placed them on a plate and microwaved them for 5 minutes. They got nice and tender. See what a nice size bowl they make.

While they were cooking in the microwave, I mixed my enchilada filling. I used rotisserie chicken, onions, green chiles, enchilada sauce and some Mexican cheese. When the squashes were cool enough to touch, I stuffed them with the filling and topped with cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.

I didn’t cook the tops. Actually after the photos, I threw them away because I stuffed these suckers to the hilt with enchilada mix.

Enchilada Stuffed Squash

These are very filling. I only ate one and I have a big appetite. However I ate the squash and all. I can’t say that about some people in my family who are not squash fans. This was  a fun recipe to make. I really like squash and Mexican flavors and can’t wait to make more dishes with them. If you have a pattypan recipe, please drop me a line and let me know about it. I will definitely grow these again next year.

3 from 1 vote

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Enchilada Stuffed Squash (Easy Summer Dinner)

This Enchilada Stuffed Squash is a great use of the squash from your garden. Fun dinner for the kids as you use the squash as a bowl! Another easy, healthy and tasty recipe!

Prep Time 8 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Servings 4

Author Denise Wright (MyLifeCookbook.com)

Ingredients

• 4 small pattypan or sun burst squash
• 2 cups chicken cooked and chopped (I used rotisserie)
• ¼ cup finely chopped onions
• ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend for filling
• ¼ cup green chiles chopped
• ½ cup enchilada sauce
• ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the tops off the squash and clean out the seeds to make a nice bowl.
3. Microwave for 5 minutes and let cool.
4. Add the chicken, onion, chiles, enchilada sauce and ½ cup of cheese in a mixing bowl.
5. Mix well and the stuff squash with mixture.
6. Add ½ cup of shredded cheese on top of each squash.
7. Place in a baking dish or cookie sheet in oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is browned.
8. Let cool a bit and serve. You can top with sour cream, guacamole, or cilantro if you wish.

* The Paleo diet does not include dairy products and I do in many of my recipes. I tend to follow a modified Paleo / Primal /Low Carb diet and use the principles of all three. Dairy is a high protein food group with plenty of nutrition that I feel is valuable in our families’ diet not to mention that it tastes great. Here is an interesting article  about full fat dairy products from Mark Sisson who started the whole Primal movement. So if you can not tolerate dairy products or you are a strict Paleo enthusiast, my apologies. Going forward I will be more cautious with how I label my recipes.