Thanksgiving weekend is here! The time of year where we sit down and share a meal with friends and family, and are thankful for all the love in our lives.  When trying to follow a plant based diet sometime Thanks giving can be tricky because when we think Thanksgiving we think turkey.  Yes there are lots of side dishes that can be made to fit your lifestyle but many of them are not meals.  This Stuffed Buttercup Squash is a meal in itself and will be sure to help turn those turkey lovers into plant lovers as well!

Stuffed Buttercup Squash

Makes 2 servings

You will need:

1 medium size buttercup squash

1/2 cup uncooked split red lentils

1 cup of water

1 small cooking onion

1 tbsp. coconut oil

3 white mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic

1 celery stalk

1/2 tsp sea salt

Sprinkle of pepper

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp ground sage

1/2 tsp coriander

1 small pear

1/4 cup of chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut your buttercup squash in half and scoop out all of the seeds from the inside. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper lay your squash halves face down and place in oven for approx. 1 hr.  To see if your squash is cooked you can pierce the inside with a fork and if it is soft then it is done.

While squash is cooking you will want to prepare the stuffing.  Chop the onions, mushrooms, celery; mince the garlic, and cub the pear.  In a medium sized frying pan melt the oil and add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms, and let simmer for several minutes.

Boil the half cup of lentils with the 1 cup of water and let boil until cooked.  Drain water if needed.

Add the celery, pear, and cooked lentils to the frying pan, along with the spices (salt, pepper, rosemary, sage, and coriander) and mix well.  Let simmer for a couple more minutes stirring regularly.

Once squash is fully cooked flip over and place inside up in a square pan (this should help prevent them from tipping over) and use the ingredients from the frying pan to stuff into the middle of the squash halves. Once finished place back in oven for 10 minutes and then serve.  You can either serve it as in the squash halves or scoop out the squash with the stuffing and serve.