In the busy rush of the week, there are some days when we just want to take a break and actually out some time into making a delicious meal. This recipe for stuffed acorn squash is the perfect balance— while the squash roasts, you can easily prepare the rest of a healthy dish that your whole family will love.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- 3 acorn squash, halved
- EVOO
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 large stalks celery, chopped
- 2 apples, diced
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1 c panko bread crumbs
- 1 c Parmesan cheese
WHAT TO DO:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Cut off the ends of the acorn squash using a sharp knife (as little as possible— just enough so that each side can stand up on its own)
- Cut the squash in half and spoon out seeds
- Brush the squash with EVOO and sprinkle with salt & pepper
- Pop into oven and roast until tender (40-50 minutes). You should be able to pierce with a fork, but it shouldn’t be “falling apart” tender.
- While the squash roasts, sautee your sausage for about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and gently squeeze out any excess grease— do not discard the grease! Pat the sausage dry.
- Add celery and onion into pan with sausage grease until it starts to brown.
- Add apple and cook another 2 minutes or so, until apple is tender.
- Stir in sage and bread crumbs.
- Stir in cheese and cook until cheese begins to melt, then set the mixture aside.
- When squash is done roasting, spoon in the sausage mix and place back in oven for another 15 minutes or so (tops should be browning just slightly).
- Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan and enjoy!
Tip: For all the cheese lovers out there, melted mozzarella or Provolone tops would make this the perfect meal.
Adapted from: http://cherishedbliss.com/sausage-and-apple-stuffed-acorn-squash/
