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I wish Election Day was tomorrow. That’s all I have to say about the election this year.
In the meantime, let’s stuff our faces with this stuffed acorn squash with sage apple sausage and wild rice. And while we’re stuffing our faces, let me tell you a story about how I used to hate cooking with squash…
I used to hate cooking with squash because I dreaded the cutting part. I seriously feared for my fingers and hand when I had to take a very sharp knife to a very hard item. I would always pray that a finger wasn’t a casualty whenever I pulled my knife out of the squash. And sometimes! The knife would even get stuck and I didn’t know how to pull it out. Seriously, scary stuff.
I brought this up to Brandy and she was like, “just microwave it for a few minutes and it’ll be soft enough to slice on through.”
WHAT.
I always thought that microwaving squash without piercing holes into its exterior would cause the entire thing to blow up (kind of like microwaving a potato without piercing the exterior). Well, since it’s only a few minutes, it’s not enough to cause your squash to implode. Life forever changed. You have no idea how many squash recipes I have made since this very wonderful tip. I don’t know why it didn’t show up on Google.
Yes, I googled “how to cut a squash easily” and all these YouTube videos just show you how to use a very sharp knife and they all miraculously cut through like butter. There needs to be a tutorial out there that simply says, “microwave the squash for three minutes then slice away.” Maybe I should create it and share the knowledge ;)
Let’s talk about the filling. If you love the flavors of Fall, you will love the filling that is stuffed in these acorn squash. Oh my word, I could not stop eating the filling. I wish I made more than just enough to fill the squash. Seriously, it’s packed with Fall flavor and super hearty and filling.
Fall is officially here. Get fillin’!
Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sage Apple Sausage and Wild Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (160 g) uncooked wild rice blend
- 0.75 pounds (340 g) fresh apple and onion pork sausage*, casing removed
- 1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves
- 1 cup (245 g) pumpkin puree
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 large acorn squash, halved and seeds removed (see tip notes below)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook wild rice according to the directions on the bag.
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (204 °C)
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage and break into tiny pieces.
- Add the chopped sage and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Once the rice is done cooking add to the skillet and add pumpkin puree along with it. Stir to mix and incorporate everything. Season with salt and pepper.
- Evenly distribute filling into the squash cavities then place on a large baking sheet.
- Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash has softened and cooked through.
- If the filling starts to get too brown on top, you can cover the baking sheet loosely with foil until squash is done cooking.
- Serve and eat immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Anyone tried it without the sausage? We do not eat meat and wondered about just putting some applesauce into the mixture.