Squash Bowls with Meat Sauce



I cut this recipe out from the newspaper years ago.  I thought it was really clever to serve meat sauce over squash instead of over noodles.  My kids thought so too, apparently, because they loved this dish.  Recently my teenage son started asking for it again, which is interesting as his palate his definitely become more sophisticated.  It's an easy weeknight meal, so I'm happy to oblige.  Serve with a side of cranberry sauce, if you have it.

Squash Bowls with Meat Sauce
Serves 4

Acorn squash, seeded and quartered
butter
cinnamon
1 lb ground meat
italian spices
1 jar marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place squash pieces on a roasting pan.  Dab each piece with bits of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes.

In the meantime, fry the ground meat and add spices.  When no longer pink, add the marinara sauce and stir well.  Turn off heat and set aside.

To serve, ladle a generous serving of sauce over each squash bowl (really a half bowl, unless you'd like to use a half squash per person) and serve hot.