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Today I am sharing one of my very favorite healthy, hearty, and tasty meals – moroccan lamb stuffed acorn squash.
I cannot believe the countdown to Christmas is ON! I am trying to get ahead this year and look through the million kid magazines sent to my house on the daily (Im serious… the mail shut off my service because I had so many magazines one week and they couldn’t fit into my box…). Anyway, I’m thinking of getting a cool fort for Lincoln. He already has a teepee tent but I’m eyeing this cool indoor camping van and campfire set that would be perfect to setup in the basement during the cold months. I’m also planning to snag a cool Hot Wheels racetrack for him, too. Now what to get the hubby and my 4 month old…
Okay on to the recipe. To be completely honest – I cannot take credit for this dish. Actually, this moroccan lamb stuffed acorn squash is a blend of two recipes: one from my amazing mother-in-law and one from Martha Stewart (you know the O.G. of real home cooking). Anyway – this dish has a few steps but is relatively easy to make and is packed with flavor!
My mother-in-law makes this dish with lamb and it’s always so great that I decided to make it with lamb, too! I pretty much have plenty of servings of chicken and grass-fed beef through the week so lamb is a welcome addition. She also adds goat cheese to the dish (which I highly recommend not skipping). I bumped up the lamb portion sizing in this recipe to give it a little more protein and I also increased the servings from 4 to 6 so that I could have some extras for the week (hello meal prep)! The recipe reheats really well in the microwave and is a great family meal.
The macros for this dish are excellent: 361 calories | 18g Fat | 33 g Carbs| 21 g Protein.
I’d love to hear if you make this recipe and what you think! Also – have you joined my FREE private Facebook Fitness Group yet? If not – I’d love to have you. Like right now. What are you still doing on this page??? Go join!!!
Moroccan Lamb Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lbs ground lamb
- 1 T ground cinnamon
- 1 T ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 C Wheat Bulgur Pilaf
- 2 C water
- 1/4 C golden raisins extra for topping if you want
- 1/4 C flat leaf parsley chopped
- 1/2 C yellow onion
- 3 medium acorn squash
- 2 oz herbed goat cheese
- 1/4 C pine nuts toasted
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash outside of squashes. Cut squashes in half and scrape seeds. Place squashes, flesh side down on parchment paper and a baking sheet. Bake until tender - about 35 to 40 minutes.
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Meanwhile, heat oil in a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add ground lamb, a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until meat is browned and cooked through. Transfer lamb to a bowl or plate using a slotted spoon, keeping as much juices in the pot as possible.
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Add onion and cook until slightly translucent. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 tsp salt and bulgur, and stir to combine. Add water and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes.
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While bulgar is cooking, heat a pan on medium-low heat an add pine nuts to toast. These toast quickly, 2 - 3 minutes. Stir frequently so they do not burn.
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Remove the bulgar mixture from the heat, and let it stand, still covered in pot, for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick, fluff bulgar mixture with fork, add cooked lamb, the raisins, parsley, and toasted pine nuts. Crumble goat cheese into mixture.
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Scrape out flesh from baked squashes (discard half of one of the acorn squashes flesh), leaving 1/4-inch-thick bowls, and fold into bulgur mixture. Divide mixture among squash halves, and return to oven. Bake until warmed through and tops are browned, 12 to 14 minutes.
Optional: Sprinkle extra goat cheese on top of each half.
Recipe Notes
Calories: 361
Protein: 21 g
Carbs: 33 g
Fats: 18 g
Note: After all 6 halves of the acorn squash are cooled you will remove the flesh from inside. These macros discard just one of those half acorn flesh as I thought it was too much. You are more than welcome to include it in the recipe but note that it will make the carbs go up just a tad.
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