Marvelous is My First Weekend Off (WIR)

I’m excited to say that my first year at college is officially complete. Three of my teachers have yet to submit grades yet, but so far things are looking great. I plan on spending my next two weeks before my summer internship starts relaxing with my family, friends and pets.

Here is a short review to give you and idea of my last week at school and my first weekend off for summer break, courtesy of Meghan’s link-up:

• Last week I spent most of my time studying.

• The rest of the time I spent reading blogs, taking care of last minute scholarship requirements, and cleaning up my dorm room.

• On Tuesday I took my Physics exam, on Thursday my Statistics exam, and on Friday my MIS exam.

• When I was finally finished with all of my tests, I was actually kind of upset…

• Oh, who am I kidding?! I was ecstatic to be finished!
• After my final exam on Friday I went to the convenience store to use up the rest of my leftover meal plan dollars from the fall on snacks for my brother.

• Then my dad came and helped me pack up everything. We also had to de-loft my bed… WAY harder than it sounds 😦 And boy do I wish that the moving truck below was our own, because that sure would have been nice. Especially if it came with two or three surly dudes who would be thrilled with carrying out my microwave and pounds of clothing.

• This past weekend my dad has been working on tilling up the ground in preparation for our vegetable garden.

• We’re also working on possibly opening up our pool soon!

• And that’s basically my past week in review. Today I also had the opportunity to make some stuffed squash for my parents and retake the pictures so that I could share the recipe with you all.

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Grain/Gluten/Wheat-Free, Egg/Dairy-Free, Nut/Peanut-Free, Nightshade-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Suggestions in Notes*

Two Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 acorn squash (or any winter squash you have on hand)
• 1 pound grass-fed ground beef*
• 2 tsp of fresh or 1/2 tsp of dried rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic/onion powder (whatever herbs you have on hand. Cayenne or cinnamon would add a nice kick too)
• Ghee/Coconut Oil
• About 1-2 cups diced vegetables (onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli slaw would all be great options)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the acorn squash whole on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes or until soft.
3. Remove the acorn squash from the oven and let cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with the ghee/coconut oil and cook the ground beef until almost done. Add the seasonings and stir to combine.
5. Then add the chopped vegetables and cook for about ten more minutes or until tender (cooking time will depend on the vegetables that you use).
6. Remove the skillet from the stove and let rest while you prepare the squash.
7. Take your acorn squash and carefully slice it in half. Use a spoon and scrape out the innards (seeds).
8. Now stuff each squash half with your beef and vegetable mixture. There will probably be some left over depending on the size of your squash.
9. Enjoy!

Shared at Thank Goodness It’s Monday

*Notes: When I first showed a picture of this stuffed squash on Wednesday, I had a few non-meaters say that they would be interested in the recipe. Now, obviously this recipe as-is is not meat-free, but it’s such an easy one that I don’t want anyone to miss out over such a small ingredient! The most authentic tasting option would to just replace the meat and seasonings with a veggie-version of sausage crumbles. However, you could also replace the ground beef itself with about 2 cups of textured vegetable protein, still adding in the seasonings and vegetables like the recipe calls for. Other great vegetarian/vegan options would be to replace the ground beef with 2 cups of scrambled tofu/tempeh, or even cooked quinoa!

I hope these pictures make up for the terribly grain pictures that I posted on WIAW… And that they entice you to try this recipe out for yourself!

Hope you all have a marvelous Monday.

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What did your past week/weekend look like?

Are you done with school for the summer/forever? Are you excited?

Any major plans coming up for vacations or fun trips?