Stuffed Summer Squash

So, my husband and I recently moved to Denver and got a house. (#Adulting) With that house came a front yard. Coming from California, having a green lawn wasn't a priority for either of us... and frankly, as this is our first time in a house vs apartment, I doubt we'd know what to do with it. So, we built a bigass garden. I've had container gardens before in NYC, but this is by far the biggest gardening endeavor I've ever taken on. I'm a bit of a susy-homemaker (which you may have picked up on already), so the thought of having my very own garden was like, the coolest thing ever.

We do, however, have literally no idea what we're doing.

We brilliantly bought 3 of everything. (Starter plants, I'm not cool enough for germinating seeds yet.) Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, strawberries, Swiss chard, summer squash, and jalepenos. Now, if you're a veteran gardener, you're probably doubling over in laughter right now. Because all of these plants like to GROW. A lot. And like, everywhere.

This is what grew in four days. Four. Days:

SO, we have a shit ton of Summer squash. Now, I'm a huge fan (and we will soon be storing excess in our freezer for winter/fall sautees, soups, and breads) so it's not terrible at all and we've found that excess vegetables have made great gifts. It's inspired me to get my lazy butt back in the kitchen in order to keep up with the daily harvests.

I'll be sharing a lot of these stuffed variations because they're full of nutrients, delicious, and an easy way to get rid of Summer Squash!

You'll need (for 4 servings)

2 Summer squash

1/2 cup dried farro

2 tbsp dried cranberries

1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Salt/pepper to taste

A few sprigs of the following options, thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, parsley, chive, or marjoram. Chop a few sprigs of whatever ya got. (I used chives, oregano, thyme, and sage).

1/4 cup grated mozzarella

Preheat your oven to 375

Lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray

Prepare Farro according to package directions (which will typically be something like, put in boiling water, reduce heat and simmer for 10 or so minutes).

Clean and chop off the stems, cut your squash lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Chop up the stems into bite-size chunks and set aside.

Now, you have a few options here. IF you want to be fancy and add a bit more green to these, absolutely sauté the stems with some spinach, onion, or protein if you like. You can also save these for another dish or toss with the following:

In a mixing bowl, combine your stems, farro, herbs, nuts, cranberries, and S&P.

Gently spoon your farro combo into each squash "bowl" until full. Top with cheese and bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is golden and squash is tender. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!