Chicken Taco Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Black beans.
Tiny jalapeños.
The perfect avocado.
ANOTHER PATTY PAN SQUASH.

What would you do?

Well, ordinarily I would be googling all over the place. But I've already done that for pattypan squash. Twice. There are plenty of options, but very few transform the squash into a main dish, and even fewer call for a single, giant squash (like the ones my CSA farm tends to grow).

Maybe I was inspired by my upcoming trip to the Mayan Riviera, but......

I made a giant taco.

No, seriously. I have Mexico on the  brain. I am currently searching through a billion possibilities of places to stay on Isla Mujeres, in Tulum, and in Puerto Morelos. This is happening.

Taco Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 80 min

Yield 4-5 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium pattypan squash

1 teaspoon chipotle/southwestern seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

½ cup dried white rice

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

3 large cloves garlic, minced

¼ large white onion, chopped

3 tiny jalapeños (or ½ large jalapeño), minced

1 medium chicken breast

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1 – 14.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup fresh pico de gallo

½ avocado, sliced

Sour cream (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the top off of the squash and remove the seeds and any stringy insides. The patty pan squash should now look like a bowl. Bake for 1–1.5 hours (until a fork easily pierces the skin and flesh). Baking time will vary depending on size of squash.

2. In a large saucepan, heat half of the olive oil on medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, and jalapeños for 3-4 minutes. Stir in rice and sauté until toasted and slightly golden in color.

3. Dump canned tomatoes (including all liquid) into the saucepan with the rice and onion mixture. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked to desired consistency.

3. Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Cook chicken breast through (about 7-8 minutes per side). Remove from heat and rest chicken for 10 minutes, then shred with a fork.

4. Add chicken back to skillet (and finish cooking, if necessary), add 1 tablespoon of water along with the taco seasoning. Stir to combine and heat through. Add black beans.

5. When squash is finished, remove from oven and stuff with rice, chicken and black bean mixture, and top with pico de gallo, avocado and sour cream.

6. Cut the squash into quarters and serve like a Mexican pie.

Enjoy!

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving, 4):

Calories 439, Total Fat 12 g, Cholesterol 32 mg, Sodium: 1017 mg, Protein 21 g, Fiber 11.3 g

........And then that thing happened where I wasn't following a recipe and tremendously underestimated how long it would take to cook the squash and I ate my taco on a microwave baked potato. Don't let this happen to you. Plan ahead for a giant squash, people.

The potato was good, but the squash was much better (even reheated). Apparently, if you ever find yourself with an abundance of ripe pattypan, I'm your girl. Savory, stuffed, or sweet.

Now back to vacation planning!!

(I think planning my own vacations could be a really great career.)