“One Pot” Italian Acorn Squash

Who doesn’t love a one pot meal, especially when the “pot” happens to be delicious? If your squash are small enough you can divide the stuffing between 4 and serve individually, but we used two and they cut in half perfectly.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium Acorn Squash

• ½ lb Italian Pork Sausage*

• (mild or spicy)

• 1 to 1.5 pounds Fresh Spinach or Chard Leaves, chopped & dried

• (or 10oz frozen Spinach thawed and squeezed dry)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• ½ medium Onion, diced 

• ½ cup Parmesan, grated

• 1.5 tsp Oregano

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• Olive Oil or Butter

1. Cut top 1 inch from your squash and remove seeds. Cut a very small slice off of the bottom so your Squash will stand up on a baking pan. Coat the insides with Olive Oil or Butter. 

2. Prepare a baking pan with Oil or Butter, set the Squash on the pan and set aside.

3. Preheat Oven to 400.

4. Heat 2-3 TBSP Olive Oil in a heavy bottom pan on medium low heat. Add Onion and cook, stirring regularly for 8-10 minutes until translucent and beginning to brown. Remove Onion from pan and set aside

5. Increase heat to medium high, add a bit more Olive Oil. Add sausage until evenly browned, but not cooked through (If you have sausage links, remove meat from casings first).

6. Turn off the burner and stir in remaining ingredients until combined and greens wilted ~ Leafy Greens, Garlic, Oregano and Parmesan, Salt and Pepper to taste.

7. (Some prepared sausage has a lot of salt, check your packaging first!)

8. Spoon the mixture into the Squash and gently push down until full. Place the Squash tops on top, spinning until lined up :). Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Test for tenderness at 50 min. using a fork on the inside edge of the squash. Be careful removing the top so your stems remain until serving.

9. Our Squash cut in half beautifully to serve as the Parmesan kept the Sausage mixture firm - make sure you have a sharp knife!

*note: go ahead and cook up the whole onion and brown your likely full pound of pork. Save half the mixture and freeze for future pasta sauce, just don’t forget the pork is not cooked all the way through!