Pattypan Palooza!

We all had a great time experimenting with pattypan squash this week, especially for those of us (like me!) who were completely new to this funky, cool squash.  One of our Nalls crew, Dawn, got extra creative this week and whipped up some baked pattypan, stuffed with cheesy bacony goodness.  *gasp*  I, on the other hand, got lazy after a long day and decided to just dice it up, season it, and bake it into submission.  Then I tossed it with a grilled shrimp and romaine salad, so if you've yet to use up the pattypan from last week, this is a great way to use up that along with this week's romaine lettuce.  So here's two pattypan preparations from our Nalls' Kitchen to yours...

Bacon & Cheese Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Ingredients:
6 pattypan squash
1 pack applewood cured, thick sliced bacon
1 cup diced onion
1 fresh jalapeno, finely diced
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring one inch of water to boil in a saucepan, over medium high heat.  Add squash, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Drain and slice off the top of the squash.  Let cool and then carefully scoop out the center of the squash, reserving all of the meat.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown.  Drain on a paper towel and set aside.  Saute onions in bacon drippings, chop squash meat and add to onions, sauteing for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add jalapeno, breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan.  Crumble in bacon.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Stuff each squash and top each with remaining cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, cut in half and drizzle with ranch dressing.  Enjoy!

Spiced Pattypan Squash

Ingredients:
3-4 pattypan squash, cubed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust (coming soon to our store!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place cubed pattypan on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and spice mix to evenly coat.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning halfway through, until sides begin to turn golden brown.

We tossed ours into a simple salad of romaine, arugula, grilled & spiced shrimp (used Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin on these).  And then made a vinaigrette of equal parts olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.