What's for Dinner Tonight? - Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash

From juliasalbum.com, this stuffed butternut squash is a great fall comfort food. Filled with sausage, pecans, cranberries and spinach, it is packed with vegetables, fiber, protein, and is gluten-free. It is quick and easy to make and is perfect as a weeknight dinner, or as a beautiful side dish for the holiday meal. It is absolutely delicious and a dish that is making it into my recipe box!

Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash

Prep time: 20 minutes    Cook time: 40 minutes    Total time: 1 hour
Serves 4 people

Roasted Butternut Squash:

2 butternut squash medium or large
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt or more
black pepper freshly ground

Sausage filling

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion small, diced
14 oz Italian sausage spicy, crumbled (I used sweet Italian sausage which was great)
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
4 oz spinach fresh
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pecans chopped


How to roast butternut squash: 
Preheat oven to 400 F.
  1. Prepare the butternut squash. Slice each one in half lengthwise. Keep fingers away from the knife to avoid injury. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fleshy strands tangled with the seeds.
  2. Place butternut squash cut sides up on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cut sides of the butternut squash halves with olive oil and rub the oil into the squash. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Turn the squash halves over, and place it cut sides down on a baking sheet. Tip: you can line the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
  4. Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F for 30 or 40 minutes.

Make sausage filling:
  1. Make the sausage filling while the squash is being roasted in the oven.
  2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil, add diced onion, and cook it on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until cooked and a bit charred.
  3. Add crumbled sausage, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning and cook for about 5 minutes or more on medium heat until the sausage is completely cooked through.
  4. Add fresh spinach and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat until the spinach wilts.
  5. Add dried cranberries and chopped pecans and mix everything.
Season with salt and pepper. Probably not necessary since the sausage is already usually salty.

Assembly:
  1. By this time, you have roasted the butternut squash for 30 or 40 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn the cooked squash halves cut sides up.
  2. Let it cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh leaving about a 1-inch border along the sides. (For reference, I provide the step-by-step photos for this step above the recipe card).
  3. Reheat the sausage mixture in the same skillet in which you made it to warm it up.
  4. Divide the sausage filling among the 4 halves and stuff the squash until the mixture is leveled or a little bit higher.
  5. Top with freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simply Sides - Melting Potatoes (Fondant Potatoes)

Image
In the UK they are known as Fondant Potatoes, and in the US, they are hardly known at all. They are buttery, crispy on the outside, creamy in the middle and worth a try. These are the most delicious potatoes I have had in a long time! They would certainly be a great addition to any of your holiday gatherings. Enjoy! Melting Potatoes (Fondant Potatoes) 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1-1/2 cups chicken broth 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled Note: Use potatoes at least 1-1/2 inches in diameter. DO NOT  use a glass baking dish. Adjust rack to upper-middle position. Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C). Square off ends of potatoes and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick disks. Toss them with melted butter, thyme, salt, and pepper. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in a baking pan and roast until the bottoms are browned, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and usin...
Read more

Simply Sides - Corn Bread Casserole

Image
My sister has made this casserole at Thanksgiving for many years. It is creamy and delicious and has been a big hit with the entire family. This dish is very easy and is not only great for your holiday meal, but also for weeknight dinners. Corn Bread Casserole 1 can creamed corn 1 can whole kernel corn ( undrained ) 8 ounces sour cream 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) melted butter 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. 1. Mix all ingredients and pour into the prepared dish. 2. Bake at 325F for one hour. Enjoy!!
Read more

The Rock of Gibraltar

Image
On our way to El Puerto De Santa Maria, we made a detour to see the Rock of Gibraltar. If you have ever seen a Prudential Financial advertisement, you will recognize the Rock of Gibraltar which is their logo. The Rock of Gibraltar is a single large block of stone 426 m (1,398 ft) high. It is a limestone peninsula and mountainous rock that jets out of the end of the British territory at the southwestern tip of Europe. It is home to a network of caves, including the famous St. Michael’s Cave, which is open to the public. At the top of the Rock, visitors can enjoy amazing panoramic views of the surrounding area, including Morocco on a clear day. Seeing the Rock from below is quite a sight, however, taking a tour to the top tells a much bigger story of how impressive it truly is. We headed out in a small 6-passenger van to make the climb up to the top of the Rock. The road is quite narrow and winds back and forth along the edge of the Rock. For someone like me who is afraid o...
Read more