Hi! It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend so we have a couple ideas to share with your family and loved ones. I'm sure most of you will need to multiply the Paleo Thanksgiving for Two recipe for more people. The nice thing is that this dinner won't take all day to make!
I mentioned my recent visit with family in my last post. I had another observation while I was there, and not surprisingly it was about food. Soooo many conversations were about food, and it didn't seem to matter who I was talking to. Conversations not only about what we were going to eat that day, but favorite local meals, interesting foods my cousin and his wife have tried in Japan, the fascinating combinations that my other cousin makes in Texas (he's got a very adventurous and playful style with food as well), stories surrounding meals that my aunts and uncle told, the “world famous” (according to my dad) fried rice that my aunt made (and was friggin' amazing!). Fresh fruit that my cousin's wife's parents ship them, etc, etc, etc. Every-other conversation seemed to be about food. I love how passionate everyone is about it! How everyone had input, excitement, and both differing and shared experiences.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: food is love, and I'm glad for the opportunity to share so much of it with family! And I'm looking forward to spending this Thanksgiving with loved ones and more great food!
I'm not sure that we'll be having this one, since my mom makes a great turkey (which I look forward to twice a year!), and my sister has a fantastic Paleo stuffing recipe. Maybe we'll make a variation of the Paleo Thanksgiving for Two with our leftovers….
Back to this recipe: our local vegetable markets have an abundance of interesting squashes right now which I haven't cooked before (I have a couple turban squashes that I'll be playing within the near future). Holley found these carnival squashes which made for a very nice combination with the ground turkey and cranberries (this is Holley's recipe, BTW).
A little bit about carnival squashes:
- they have thick skins (only eat the flesh),
- they are sometimes sold as a type of acorn squash (they taste pretty similar in my opinion),
- the flesh is similar to butternut squash and sweet potatoes,
- wonderful with butter and herbs,
- lend themselves nicely to soups, too!
If you can't get a hold of carnival squash, don't be scared to try with acorn squash, butternut squash, kabocha squash, etc. even a small pumpkin, don't let finding the “right” kind of squash get in your way.
Enjoy friends! And for my American peeps, see you here in a month! Oh, and watch for Holley's Paleo Cranberry Sauce in the next couple days that makes Paleo Thanksgiving for Two even better! Food love for all!!!
Paleo Thanksgiving for two
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
The flavours of thanksgiving in a colourful squash bowl, grain and dairy free!
Ingredients
- 1 carnival or acorn squash (or whatever squash you prefer)
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 2 allspice berries
- 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 diced onion
- 1 diced apple cored, but leave the peel on
- 1 lb turkey (ground or shredded)
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Wash and split the squash in half.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Scoop out seed and strings, you can roast the seeds, or throw them in a pot with other veggie ends for vegetable stock. Or not, up to you.
- Place squash skin side up in a shallow pan, (we used a pie plate) add 1/4 cup water and bake for 25 min while you prepare everything else.
- Sautee turkey lightly, adding onion and apple.
- Add rosemary, celery seed, thyme, allspice, poultry seasoning, and stir.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Pull the squash out of the oven and flip over, watch for steam, it's hot!
- Add egg and cranberries to turkey mixture, stir well.
- Spoon mixture into the squash cavity and put back into the oven 20-25 min depending on how big your squash is.
Notes
Don't have all those spices? Substitute extra poultry seasoning.
Making more and want to make the turkey go farther? Add grated zucchini, carrot, chopped celery or shredded cabbage! Also a great way to sneak in some veggies!
- Category: Thanksgiving
Ooh! This recipe is being featured with some other great real food recipes over at the Skinny Pear.
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