I think fall may be here for real… the air is cooler, skies are true October blue, and it even smells like fall. Since fall is as synonymous with comfort food as it is with colorful leaves, I wanted to try some new comfort food recipes that were healthier than the usual desserts (although I will admit that gluten-free pumpkin bread is on the horizon).
A friend of mine posted this apple stuffed acorn squash recipe a while back, and I found this recipe that offers more savory flavor. This recipe combines the two for a savory-sweet comfort-food dinner that is also healthy. Make sure to get the right sausage and it’s also gluten, dairy, and egg free! Win-win!
Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
Total cook time: approx. 1 1/2 hours
Feeds 4
Ingredients:
- Two acorn squash, uncooked
- 1 lb. gluten-free ground turkey sausage (I used Jeanie-Os, which was pre-seasoned
- 2 large apples
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Grapeseed oil
- Salt
- Honey
- 1/2 c. crumbled pecans
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Cut the ends of the acorn squash, just barely, so that the halves will sit without tipping the topping.
- Cut the acorn squash in half (a machete works well) and scoop out the pulp/seeds.
- Set in glass pan and top with oil and salt.
- Bake squash 40-50 minutes until it is soft. (I did 50 min and may honestly do an hour next time.)
- While the squash is cooking, brown sausage meat in pan.
- Peel and dice apples. Add a splash of lemon juice. Sprinkle cinnamon on top (to taste) and stir.
- Once meat is cooked, set aside. In same skillet, sauté the apples 2 minutes.
- Add apples to sausage. Combine with 1 Tablespoon butter (or butter substitute) and crumbled pecans. Drizzle with honey before mixing together.
- When squash has reached desire tenderness, add sausage-apple mix to the “bowl” in the squash. Drizzle honey on top. Return to the oven and bake another 20 minutes. Let cool several minutes before eating.
- Enjoy with extra salt or honey, as needed!
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