Acorn Squash with Sausage and Apples

Happy Foodie Friday, Friends.

Today I want to talk about food memories.

It’s funny how food can bring up memories from the past. Am I right??

A few years ago, the hubs and I took a road trip to Kansas City and we stayed with our good friends, Damon and Kari. These two wonderful humans are both entrepreneurs, parents and basically some of the coolest people I know. After a long and stressful work day, we arrived at Damon and Kari’s and I’ll never forget how welcomed I felt after walking in the door. Damon was busy making us dinner and Kari was busy making sure we had towels and everything we needed during our stay with them.

I’m sure they don’t remember this, but I will never forget the meal we were served that evening. This recipe is pretty similar to what they served us for dinner that night. Before that evening, I don’t think I had ever enjoyed acorn squash served as a savory dish. It was so beautiful, delicious and incredibly filling. Plus, we got to spend an evening catching up with good friends and chatting about life drama. Who doesn’t love that?

Don’t you love how food can bring back good memories?

Now let’s talk about squash. Acorn squash is a winter squash and related to the butternut squash or spaghetti squash. I know that cooking with squash like this can seem intimidating but it is so easy to prepare. Honestly, the thing you should be most worried about is CUTTING the squash.

So, now let’s talk about how food can bring up bad memories…ha ha!

A few years ago, I was trying to prepare acorn squash and I had a little accident while cutting one. I wasn’t being very careful and I ended up with 3 stitches in my index finger. I’ll never forget my trip to urgent care and having to tell the Dr. what happened.

Speaking from experience, let me give you a few tips on how to cut an acorn squash.

Use a sharp knife. (Seriously, a dull knife can actually be very dangerous!)
Make sure your cutting board has a wet towel underneath it to keep it steady.
Microwave the acorn squash for 90 seconds to help soften the skin. This will help!!
If needed, use a paper towel under one side of the acorn squash to better stabilize it.
Cut the squash from root to tip.

Once you’ve cut the squash, remove the seeds and the pulp like material and then roast for 25-30 minutes at 350 F. I serve mine with lean cooked sausage and apples but you could probably use another type of ground meat or substitute. When using the lean sausage, I don’t have to add any other seasonings because the sausage gives the dish such great flavor. Let me know what you think!

Acorn Squash with Sausage and Apples

40 minutes
6 ingredients
6 steps

Ingredients

2 Acorn Squash
1 pound lean ground sausage
2 apples (Honeycrisp or Fuji)
2 TB Butter
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
Microwave each acorn squash for 90 seconds before slicing. After skin has softened slightly, cut acorn squash from root to tip. Remove seeds and pulp and place face down on baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
While acorn squash is cooking, prepare sausage and apple mixture. Using a saute pan, brown sausage over medium heat. Drain any excess oil and return sausage to pan.
Dice apples and add them to pan with sausage over low heat. Combine and cook apples slightly.
When acorn squash has finished cooking, plate by adding 1/2 TB butter in each acorn squash half and sprinkle 1 tsp of brown sugar on top of squash. Fill each squash with sausage and apple mixture.
Top with pecans, peanuts or walnuts.

Acorn Squash with Sausage and Apples

Jump to the Recipe!

Use a sharp knife. (Seriously, a dull knife can actually be very dangerous!)

Make sure your cutting board has a wet towel underneath it to keep it steady.

Microwave the acorn squash for 90 seconds to help soften the skin. This will help!!

If needed, use a paper towel under one side of the acorn squash to better stabilize it.

Cut the squash from root to tip.