A Texas to Mexico Paleo~Style Stuffed Squash

As our family prepares to head to South Texas for the Thanksgiving holiday where quiet relaxing vistas will keep us spellbound for a few days & give us all a certain spiritual nourishment. This fall I've been so enamored with the selection of winter squashes & pumpkins I've seen. I've seen more variety & colorful selection than ever. Not for the first time this season I have cooked with Carnival Squash. It is a mild, squash in the size range of an Acorn Squash.  I enjoy baking Carnival Squash with savory spices however many cooks bake these with a much sweeter result using winter spices such cloves, cinnamon & agave or honey. The colorful skin makes this a nice centerpiece till you are ready to use it regardless of how it is baked. My version of the stuffed squash gives a nod to the hunter-gatherer diet paying attention to exclude grains, legumes, dairy products, salt & refined sugar. *winter squash are:Fat-free and sodium-free, a three-fourths cup serving provides fiber, carbohydrates, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron and thirty calories. Darker colored squashes have the most beta carotene.  

Carnival Squash are a colorful winter squash sometimes labeled acorn squash.

 Creamy mild flesh of the squash makes a nice complement to the spicy chili sauce

Stuffed Carnival Squash with Mushroom & Red Chili Chicken


2 Carnival Squash, halved, seeded, rubbed with 1 tablespoon oil
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/2 lb lean chicken sausage (I found mine at Sprouts, remove casing if it has casing)
1/4 diced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
*1/2 cup Red Chili Sauce made with Guajillo chilis see recipe link

Recipe here from previous blog post on *Lunch Box for One
2 tablespoon chopped flat leave parsley


Bake the 2 Carnival Squash cut into halves @ 375 for 25 minutes or till crispy golden around edge & flesh tests tender.  Set aside &  prepare Mushroom & Chicken stuffing. Saute onion & garlic in skillet till translucent, add the chicken sausage & ground chicken. Cook till chicken is no longer pink & slightly browned.  Add in mushrooms, cook till tender then add the Red Chili Sauce, mix, add parsley & remove from heat.  Spoon into Squash halves & return to 375 oven for 10 minutes till heated throughly.  Serve immediately.  Any leftover stuffing I serve alongside the filled squash halves.

Leftover Mushroom Red Chili Chicken Filling is good alone