MMMMM......

On Thursday, July 21, I tried a new recipe for supper.  Now, copying is the best form of flattery, right?  I just LOVE the The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond and even have her cookbook.  She makes the BEST foods and takes a picture of every step during the cooking process.  This is great for inexperienced cooks like me.  I followed her lead, but didn't take pictures of EVERY step in the process.

This is how I made Stuffed Squash for supper.  The recipe is a concoction from my dad and me.
First, I bought a yellow squash from a local (Rose Hill) gardener and purchased hamburger meat from the grocery store.

Next, I cut the squash in half and scooped out the seeds.  Be careful when scooping out the seeds that you don't go too deep and get to the meat of the squash...you want to eat that later with dinner. You will need to fry up the hamburger.  I had mine simmering while I was scooping seeds.  I seasoned the hamburger meat with sea salt, ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning.  (Sorry, no picture of simmering meat.)

Next, spray the inside of the squash with spray Pam.  My Dad said this would keep it nice since every part of the squash wouldn't be covered with hamburger meat.  The next step is to spoon the hamburger meat into the squash.  Originally, I was going to bake this in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, but since it was so hot, I asked my dad for an alternative.  He looked in a microwave cookbook, and we settled on a cooking time of about 7 minutes total.

I put the two halves on a dinner plate as it fits nicely into my small microwave.  I cooked the squash and hamburger for about 3 1/2 minutes, then checked the squash with a knife.  It wasn't quite as soft as I wanted, so I added some Parmesan cheese to the top and returned it to the microwave for about 4 minutes.  I did put a paper towel on top of the squash as it cooked in the microwave.

I found some slightly old hamburger buns on the counter and decided that would be nice grilled with the squash.  I put butter and some Parmesan cheese on the bread and grilled it on my electric skillet.  Below is the final dinner plate.  It was yummy, and Patrick even ate it without complaint. His main comment was, "Well, it's hard to keep the hamburger meat on the squash when you cut it to eat it."  He was using a knife and fork and I ate mine with a spoon, scraping the squash out.  Not sure which is the best way to "attack" this meal.