Filled Buttercup Squash

Recently my niece asked me if I had a recipe for “filled sapalla”. It’s a South American kind of squash which I do not have a translation for but it’s a lot like buttercup squash, so I decided to try that. Normally I would have just used my cabbage roll sauce recipe, but since I’ve made Lovella’s Mexican Stuffed Peppers, I really like that sauce too, so I tried a blend of the sauce recipe.

Meat Filling:

• several small buttercup squash
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 2 cups cooked rice
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ onion, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ onion, chopped
• ½ green pepper, chopped
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can water
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• ¾ cup sour cream

1. Mix all filling ingredients well. I used left over rice casserole for the rice. 
2. If the buttercup squash is small, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and fill. I filled four halves and then made large meatballs with the rest of the meat. If the squash is large, cut it into slices with meatball in the center or cut into wedges and lay the pieces alongside the meatballs, in a large roaster.
3. For sauce, cook onion and pepper until soft. Add soups, water and seasoning. Bring to boil.
4. Stir in sour cream, until blended. Pour over squash and meatballs in roaster.
5. Bake 1 1/4 - 1½ hours at 350° F. This makes about 6 – 8 servings. Left over meatballs go well with mashed potatoes.