Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash & Baked Apple

I am on my own while Tom is away helping his parents after his father's hip replacement surgery. Making dinner for one often doesn't seem worth the effort. It is more fun to cook for others, but I must say, I enjoyed this meal. It was easy and very satisfying.

It's a stuffed Sweet Dumpling squash with leftover buckwheat meatloaf which I cooked it for an hour and 15 minutes, along with a big Crispin apple with cinnamon and walnuts.


Sweet Dumpling squash was at the farm stand in Penn Yan when I stopped by to see what was still available in mid-November. So, I bought one to try. It's about the same size as an acorn squash.

And they also had a beautiful assortment of apples, and to my surprise, some English walnuts from the trees on their property. So, I also bought a huge Crispin and a small bag of shelled nuts.

I cut the squash in half sideways, then scooped out the seeds. This squash has a Halloween pumpkin aroma when you open it, but tastes more like butternut squash.

I piled it high with leftover, cooked meatloaf and

then put the top back on it.

In the same roasting pan, I cut the apple in half, cored out the center, and then put salt & pepper on it --- this step is important to bring out the flavor and to add some heat -- and then sprinkled on cinnamon and coarse brown sugar, then piled the nuts in the middle. During baking , the apple became soft and pillowy in the middle and the nuts were crunchy in contrast.

Here's how cute the squash looked after baking. It became golden brown, and was fun to eat. Inside, the soft squash and the meatloaf leftovers married well.