Stuffed Delicata Squash

I usually use one of the vegetarian "sausages" in these types of dishes, so I thought I'd try a vegetable-only dish. We liked it! I will say here that I used one of those "mini chop" things to chop everything, and I bought pre-sliced mushrooms. I don't want to really "slave over a hot stove;" I just want it to taste like I did! Ha!

Serves 2 without a side dish or salad. It would probably serve 4 with rice pilaf and a salad!

1 Delicata squash

1 small onion, diced

1 small clove of garlic, minced (or a couple of shakes of garlic powder. I know.... ;))

1 zucchini, 1/2 inch dice

1 crookneck squash (aka "yellow squash"), 1/2 inch dice

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

2 handfuls of spinach leaves (I used baby ones, so I didn't have to chop them up)

dried basil, 1 tsp. - 2 tsp. (depends on how much you like basil!)

Salt--about 1/2 tsp.

Pepper--about 1/4 tsp.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the Delicata squash in half lengthwise. Spray an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with an oil spray. Add water to about 1/2 inch. Put the squash in, cut side up, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees until you get the rest of this put together, about 30 minutes, or so.

Chop, or dice, the onion, and mince the garlic. Put them into a skillet with a little olive oil on medium-low heat. Stir the onion and garlic to coat them with the oil. While that's cooking, dice, or chop, the squashes. Add them to the skillet, and stir everything together. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until they're beginning to soften, 15 minutes maybe? 20 minutes? Anyway, longer than just a couple of minutes! Ha! Add the mushrooms, and cook until they've released some of their water, but they're still firm. Add the spinach, basil, salt, and pepper, and stir.

Take the squash halves out of the oven. They will probably not be completely cooked; that's good. Spoon your stuffing from the frying pan into the squashes, re-cover with the foil, and return to the oven, lowering the heat to 350 degrees F. In 45 minutes, it's done. In an hour, the water has evaporated completely, and the juices from the vegetables have started to burn onto the bottom of the baking dish! Ha! It's still good here, but the clean-up is worse! Ha!

I love experimenting! LOL! Enjoy!