With fall just a few days away and change in the air, I decided it was time to cook our first winter squash of the season. I knew I wanted to make a sausage stuffed squash and add apples, onion and whatever else struck my fancy. I had a wonderful vision in my head, and lucky for me, it turned out pretty darn close.
I was actually hesitant to buy the acorn squash at first because it’s still a tad early for winter squash, but Jesse convinced me otherwise. The weather actually hasn’t been fall-like here yet, aside from the mornings, but we’re still getting temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s. I’m totally okay with it though. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall, but I’ll take as much summer as I can get! September and October are generally really nice out here, but the cold and rain will be upon us soon enough.
Enjoy!
Harvest Sausage Stuffed Squash
For the squash:
- 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
- 2 Tbsp grass-fed butter
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place squash face down in a little bit of water, either on a baking sheet or in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, flip the squash over and fill each cavity with 1 Tbsp of grass-fed butter and sea salt and pepper to taste. Place back in oven for 30 more minutes or until squash is tender when poked with a knife. Note: if squash is done before the harvest mixture, keep it in the oven to stay warm.
For the harvest sausage mixture:
- 1/2 – 1 tsp bacon fat
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 lb dark meat ground turkey
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Fresh black pepper, to taste
- Pinch of cayenne
- 1 gala apple, chopped
- 2 cups green kale, torn into pieces
Directions:
- Heat the bacon fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and let cook a few minutes. Then add in the meat and all the sausage spices. Mix well to make sure all the spices get well incorporated. Alternatively, before adding the meat to the pan, you can place it in a bowl with the spices and mix it all together with your hands. This will ensure that all the spices get more evenly distributed.
- As the meat browns, break up the big chunks with a spatula. Once meat is close to done, add in the apple and mix well.
- After a few minutes, stir in the kale and a bit more sea salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- Once done, scoop into each squash cavity and serve.
YUM stuffed any kind of anything is my favourite.. but especially squash. i’m actually a weird shade of orange from eating too much of it. i wonder if i should be concerned?
Haha, I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about … just a lot of vitamin A going on! If it’s really noticeable and bothers you, then you could maybe cut back 😉 It’s crazy, but it ate TONS of squash last winter and fall, and surprisingly didn’t turn orange. I literally ate squash almost every day. Anyway, I’ll be you’ll love this recipe if you like squash and stuffed things!
That looks incredible! A healthy fall dish!
Thanks! It tastes like fall 🙂
Stuffed veggies are the BEST! I have never done squash before though, this looks reall good!
Stuffed squash is a must try if you’ve never had it! So good!
Now I’m very hungry! Looks fantastic!
Haha, I guess reading food blogs will do that every now and again 😉 Thanks!
Made this last night with Italian sausage. Yum!
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
this looks so yummy, we are trying it tonight. i love summer too but am also excited for fall 🙂 ps…i came across this recipe on Pinterest, but i too am from Michigan, graduated from MSU, and now live in PDX too!
Wow, talk about a small world! I’d say that’s way more than a coincidence, wouldn’t you? Where in Michigan are you from? Anyway, thanks so much for your comment and I hope you enjoy the recipe, Meghan 🙂