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Enjoy this delicious Acorn Squash & Lentil Egg Bake – a nutrient packed, high protein, high fiber budget friendly recipe that costs just $1.71 per serving!

The Recipe Redux January 2017 – Theme

This month the members of The Recipe Redux are working on creating delicious, Budget-Friendly Eats!

How low can you go? Can you make a meal for less than $3 per serving? Whatever your budget, show us your healthy entree recipe to help keep food spending in check in 2017.

A Special Announcement!

As we focus on keeping spending in check for 2017, it is a perfect time to highlight how much money you can save on your grocery budget when you grow your own food. Back in December I conducted my first annual reader survey and I was so excited to see that 57% of you said that you were interested in learning more about how to start a backyard garden in order to grow your own food to feed your family.

Well I listened!!

It is the perfect time to announce that coming this spring I will be adding a Gardening section to my website in order to help you to teach you how to grow your own food too! Complete with guides and videos – I am so excited to start this new journey and hope you are too!! I am also super, super excited to announce that we will be adding six new babies to the family this coming March – baby chicks as we learn to raise our own egg laying hens :):)

The Cost Breakdown

Lets just break down the cost real quick. I grew A LOT of squash last year.

All 40 of these beautiful acorn squash were grown from a single seed packet that cost me $3.95 for 25 seeds.

I failed algebra 4 times in college (#truth) BUT according to my calculations $3.95/40 = $0.09875 which equals $0.10 per squash. TEN CENTS PER SQUASH MY FRIENDS.

Sure, a lot of time and energy and love was spent in growing these beauties, but to me, the effort is well worth it. And, because I am now able to preserve my own seeds from the mature fruit to start my plants over again next season, I don’t have to buy another seed packet again.

As I always say, a garden is the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving ♥♥

Acorn squash is still budget friendly even if you don’t grow it yourself. It will be the cheapest in the Fall during harvest time, especially when purchased at a farmers market from a local farmer.

But, if your simply shopping around your local grocery store, you can pick up these babies for $0.99 a pound. This recipe calls for three small acorn squash which are approximately 4-5 pounds which will run you about $3.96-$4.95.

Acorn Squash & Lentil Egg Bake

These tasty acorn squashes are stuffed with lentils, a delicious and nutritious plant-based legume which are easy on the wallet as well. A single bag of Goya Lentils from the grocery store cost approximate $1.69, depending on the variety you purchase. The can be boiled like rice and have a hearty, filling texture.

Not only are lentils cheap and non-perishable but they are also a great source of nutrients as well. They are high in both protein and dietary fiber which means that they will keep you full and satisfied, a suitable vegetarian meal for any meat loving carnivore 😉 In addition to the protein and fiber, lentils also offer many vitamins and minerals such as b vitamins, folate, copper, phosphorus and iron.

Try this Acorn Squash & Lentil Egg Bake for dinner tonight!Click To Tweet

To round out this tasty meal I have topped this lentil stuffed squash with a tasty, farm fresh egg. Of course, it’s okay if you don’t have access to farm fresh eggs, you can purchase yours right from the grocery store for as little as $1.19 a dozen. If you live in a rural area like me, you can also likely get farm fresh eggs from small road side stands for $3-4 a dozen. These are likely to be as close to organic and free range as you’re going to get, plus you are supporting a local farmer!

I did not include the olive oil and spices in the cost breakdown for this recipe, because it is likely that you already have on hand at home.

TOTAL RECIPE COST:

Acorn Squash = $4.95/6 = $0.83 cents per serving
Lentils = $1.69/6 = $0.28 cents per serving
Eggs = $1.19/12 = $0.10 per egg x 6 = $0.59 cents per serving.
Total: $1.71 per serving 🙂

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Acorn Squash & Lentil Egg Bake

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour

Author: Emily Kyle, MS, RDN

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 acorn squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
For the Lentils
2 cups dried lentils (any type you choose, I used Black Beluga lentils in this recipe)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon coriander
6 farm fresh eggs
Optional Ganish
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Sriracha, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking pan with foil and set aside.
Carefully cut off each short end of the acorn squash so they will lie flat when baking.
Carefully cut each squash in half width-wise and scoop out the seeds.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Place in the oven for 40 minutes.
For the Lentils
While the squash is roasting, prepare the lentils according to package directions. Different types of lentils require different cooking times. Cook lentils should yield about 4 prepared cups.
When the lentils are done cooking, strain or drain any leftover water as necessary.
Add to the lentils: olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, turmeric, granulate onion and coriander. Mix well.
After the acorn squash has been roasting for 40 minutes, remove from the oven and carefully add the lentil mixture to the hollowed squash. Return to the oven while preparing the eggs.
For the egg topping, feel free to cook your eggs any way you choose. Fried eggs are perfect. If you want to make it easy, coat a muffin tin with cooking spray and crack 1 egg into each well. Place in the oven with the squash and cook for 15 minutes, or until firm.
Remove the squash and the eggs from the oven. Top the squash with the eggs and optional garnish.
Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this Acorn Squash & Lentil Egg Bake as much as my family does! And I hope you start to think about how much money you could save by growing your own produce in your backyard garden!

What is your favorite budget friendly tip or trick for saving at the grocery store?

Let me know in the comment section below!

P.S. Be sure to check out all of the other delicious The Recipe Redux post’s from this month for an entire collection of absoutely delicious and nutritious meals all made for less than $3 per serving 🙂