THE BEST STUFFED ACORN SQUASH
IT’S FALL, YA’LL! And I just love fall food. The squashes, the soups, the comfort, the hearty and homey. Acorn squash is one of my favorites because I really think it makes the other ingredients shine. It has the warmth from the nutmeg and sage, the crunch from the apples, and just a little bit of heat from the sausage. Oh and let's not forget about how amazing shitake mushrooms make this dish. This recipe comes together pretty easy, too.
Serving Size: 2
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, halved and seeds/core removed
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 lb ground turkey sausage ( I used hot)
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup shitake mushrooms, diced
1 large apple, diced with (or without) skin (I prefer Honeycrisp)
Salt and Pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp chopped sage, fresh
½ tbsp thyme, fresh or dried
Parmesan cheese, grated (for topping)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out a sheet pan with parchment paper. Slice the acorn squash in half with large knife. Scoop out seeds and stringy core. Place on sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and salt/pepper. Bake at 400 for 30 min or until flesh is tender and sides begin to wrinkle. Reduce oven temp to 375 degrees.
2. While squash is baking, heat olive oil over medium-heat in a large skillet. Add onion. Saute for 3 min. Add garlic and mushrooms. Saute until fragrant. Make a well in the center and add sausage. Break up into small pieces until browned through.
3. Add diced apples, salt/pepper, nutmeg, sage, thyme. Stir and let cook on medium low until vegetables have given up liquid and the liquid has evaporated- about 5-10 min.
4. Remove squash. Let cool- until you can scoop out most of flesh leaving a ¼ inch thick border. Add the scooped squash to the skillet with sausage. Stir really well to incorporate.
5. Pack the filling into the squash halves until full, pressing down with each spoon full. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top. Place in oven and bake until cheese is fully melted. Approx 15 min.
6. Top with more fresh sage and seasoning as needed!
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