Sausage- and apple-stuffed acorn squash

My mom came to visit for a few days, which was delightful! And since that meant cooking for two instead of one, it was the perfect opportunity to make this recipe I'd been admiring for a few weeks. The recipe was for four servings, so we scaled it down to two but rounded up on most of the stuffing ingredients. The only other changes we made to the original recipe were cutting out the panko crumbs and using ground turkey sausage instead of turkey sausage in casings. 

I normally don't even like sausage, but this dish was good! The sausage served as an excellent complement to the creamy acorn squash and sweet apples. And, while it looks really fancy, it's actually pretty easy to make. It's a little time-consuming, but most of the prep time is spent baking (so less hands-on time). I would gladly make this dish again!

Without further ado, here is the recipe, adapted slightly from Nicole's recipe at preventionrd.com. For those of you interested in nutrition information, she includes it with every recipe.

Sausage- and Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 large acorn squash, halved and seeded

1 Tbsp butter, melted

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1/4 tsp ground sage, divided

1/2 lb. ground turkey sausage

1/4 to 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

3/4 celery rib, finely chopped

3 oz mushrooms, chopped

1/2 to 3/4 apple, cored and chopped (we used Gala)

2 generous Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

1 small or medium egg, beaten (or beat a large egg and don’t pour all of it in)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the melted butter, garlic, and 1/8 tsp sage. Brush the inside and outside of each squash with the butter mix. Place the squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until fork tender. (Mom started ours cut side down in an inch or so of water; we took out out after about 25 minutes, brushed with the butter mixture, turned cut side up, and returned to the oven for a little longer. This method meant the squash cooked faster and was more tender and less crispy.)

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate, set aside. To the skillet add the onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add the apples and cook for another 2 minutes.

Return the sausage to the skillet then remove from heat. Season with 1/8 tsp sage, salt, and pepper. Stir in the Parmesan and egg.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the two squash halves. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.

Yield: 2 servings.

Acorn squash - cooked, and ready to fill 

The bottom left corner is blurry partly because of the focus setting,
but mostly because the lens was starting to steam up.

All gone!