The magic of fall has spread to all corners of my house, and that finally extended to the kitchen, as evidenced by this delicious roasted stuffed acorn squash.
In the last week, the weather finally, FINALLY, gave me something to work with as far as colder temps. Temps that make me want to turn on my oven and fill the house with the warmth and smells of my favourite time of the year.
I’ve gotten in the groove and remembered my fall faves that seem to go on vacation from my kitchen through the spring and summer. The roasted cauliflower, squashes, potatoes and more are back and I’m loving it.
One of the other things that I love about this time of the year is that most of the meals that I cook do lend themselves to hands-off prep. Whether it’s the slow cooker, or a chop-and-drop in the oven, the length of time spent cooking isn’t necessarily indicative of the effort, and this stuffed squash is the perfect example of that.
So what have we got?
Roasted acorn squash stuffed with spicy Italian chicken sausage and kale. Topped with cheese and breadcrumbs and broiled for a lovely finish.
The prep work is minimal and while the finished product may not be the prettiest you’ve ever seen, it may be one of the tastiest.
What do I need to make roasted stuffed acorn squash?
- acorn squash
- pre-made spicy Italian chicken or pork sausage
- pre-packaged, pre-washed kale
- breadcrumbs for crunch
- goat cheese, as you like
- salt, pepper and crushed red pepper for flavor
- parsley for freshness
Tastes better than it looks- trust! Let’s get cooking.
Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 1 acorn squash
- 2 links spicy Italian chicken sausage
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 cup chopped kale
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1 TB crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Halve the acorn squash and remove the seeds. Place the two halves back together and wrap the entire thing in foil. Bake for one hour until the squash is soft and cooked through.
- While the squash is cooking, remove the casing from the raw chicken sausage. To a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the oil and the sausage and cook until no longer pink, using a wooden spoon to break up the sausage. Remove from the pan. Add the kale and give it a quick sauté until softened. Set aside..
- Once the squash has cooked and cooled about 30 minutes, carefully remove the pulp from the squash, reserving the outside shell/skin and put into a medium bowl. Add the kale, sausage, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and parsley. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Divide the squash mixture up in between the two squash halves. Top each with half of the breadcrumbs and half of the cheese.
- Place each squash half, cheese side up, on a baking sheet or baking pan. Broil until the top has charred slightly, about 5 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!