Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

Inside this weeks CSA box were some gorgeous patty pan squash. I love these little things.  For something so small, they sure do have big flavor. I decided to stuff them.  I took a recipe I found here and added my own twist to it.  Recipe to follow pics.

My loot…

Turned into this….

Inside..

This was beyond delicious.  I think everyone should make this tonight for dinner. 🙂

• 6 pattypan squash, stem and blossom removed
• 6 slices bacon
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• any herb of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bring one inch of water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until a fork can pierce the stem with little resistance. Drain, and slice off the top stem of the squash. Use a melon baller to carefully scoop out the centers of the squash. Reserve all of the bits of squash.
3. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove bacon to paper towels, and set aside. Saute onion in bacon drippings. Chop the reserved squash pieces, and saute them with the onion for one minute.
4. Remove the skillet from heat, and stir in the breadcrumbs. Crumble the bacon, and stir into the stuffing along with the Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff each squash to overflowing with the mixture, and place them in a baking dish. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until squash are heated through.

I topped mine with extra cheese so they would get a nice crust on the top.  I didn’t have any Parmesan in my fridge so I used Romano.  Also, I took the foil off the baking dish for the last five minutes or so, it helped make my cheese crusty.  I only used about 2 tbs of the bacon fat to sautee my onions to cut down on fat.  I drizzled some olive oil to add some moisture to the stuffing because I used less bacon fat. (note: the recipe calls for a lot of bacon..six pieces!…if that seems too overpowering, go ahead and cut that in half.  It will still taste great).