Ingredients

Preparation time: 25 minutes, cooking time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
1 1/2 pounds stew beef
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons each: brown sugar, balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons ground chipotle chili pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 medium butternut squash, about 3 pounds
1 1/2 cups water
1 tomato, cored, chopped
1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, cubed, optional
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine beef, water, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, chipotle pepper, cumin, salt and black pepper in a Dutch oven; cover. Bake until beef is fork-tender, about 1 3/4-2 1/4 hours.

Meanwhile, cut squash lengthwise into quarters; remove seeds. Place squash cut side down in 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish, overlapping if necessary; add water. Bake until fork-tender, 1 1/4 hours. Place each baked squash quarter onto a serving plate. Fill with equal amounts of the beef mixture; top with tomato and avocado. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serves 4.