Trying something new tonight, it's not done yet but here's the lowdown.

One butternut squash, halved. It's important to find out where the natural resting point of the squash is before cutting it, so it doesn't roll around after being halved. Many melons and gourds have a natural resting point from sitting in the same position while being grown.

Once halved I got rid of the seeds then scooped the insides out with a spoon. This is the most labor intensive part of the whole thing. I don't scoop the whole thing out, just enough so the whole length of the squash can be used as a bowl. Once they're scooped out I toss them in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees to start cooking while the rest gets prepared.

Then I sliced up the rest of my baby portobello mushrooms and set them aside, followed by a small onion.

Once my non-meat stuff was done I sliced up some boneless, skinless chicken breast and tossed it in a pot with my onions on medium heat.

I opened a can of Mandarin oranges I had in my cupboard, drained the juice from the can, rinsed them a few times inside the can with cool water, then tossed them in the blender with a tiny bit of water to liquify.

Once the chicken was just about done I poured the orange puree in with it, let that sit for a few minutes, then added the scooped out insides from the squash and let that cook until the water was just about boiled off. I added my mushrooms toward the end, along with some oregano. I think I used just a little too much oregano this time though. We'll see how it tastes though.

At this time the squash had been in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, and the liquid was just about boiled off of my chicken/etc.

I pulled the squash out of the oven and filled the halves with the mix from the pot. There was just enough room so that the mix mounded out about a half-inch from the top of the half. When I formed the mounds with my spoon I could see the juices pooling up in the squash bowls.

Sometime throughout all of that I'd grated up some swiss cheese, so I covered the top of each squash half with that grated swiss cheese.

It all went back in the oven at 350, not sure how long I'll leave it in. I'll be sure to report back once dinner is over though.

I attached a photo of it about 10-15 minutes away from being ready to eat.



For the most part it was good, it could have been great though.

A few notes in retrospect.

1) I definitely put too much oregano in, I'll be leaving it out next time

2) It might be better with sausage instead of chicken, though the chicken is probably better for me, I'll probably experiment with some spices next time. I was running a bit low on spices this time around though.

3) The squash could have cooked a little longer before I filled it back up. I think I'll go 30-45 minutes on the squash in the oven before the rest goes in next time. I was juuuust shy of being completely done in some of the thicker spots.

4) A whole small onion may have been a bit much, especially with the oregano, I'll probably use half an onion next time.

5) Wax paper or something. You only need to see the cheese on the cookie sheet in that photo to see why.

This looks good and I'm normally not a big squash eater!

Did you make this recipe up all on your own?

I only use a cook book for baked goods on the rare occasion I make them. Pretty much everything else I make depends on what I find in my fridge and cupboards that day.

I'm a horrible shopper. I can plan for tacos but that's about it. The rest of the time I walk through the grocery store saying "ooh that looks like a tasty ingredient".

Ha, that's an interesting way to shop!