Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash

To celebrate the first weekend of fall, I wanted to try acorn squash.  I've never cooked it before so I googled "acorn squash recipes."  Most of them involved adding brown sugar and butter to make it a sweet treat.  I had a different idea.  For some reason, I kept thinking of stuffing it with sausage so that's what I did.  Here's my recipe for "Stuffed Acorn Squash.".

"Stuffed Acorn Squash"

1 Acorn Squash washed and cut in half
dash of ground cinnamon
dash of ground ginger

~1/2 to 3/4 pound of ground pork
sea salt, cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1 egg, beaten
2 T mozzarella or other cheese, shredded (optional)

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees.
Place the squash halves cut-side down on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes until squash flesh is developing tenderness, but not cooked all the way through.

While the squash is baking, brown the pork in a skillet.  Season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Remove to separate bowl.  Using two tablespoons or so of the pork drippings, saute the onion and celery.  Add celery and onion to the pork and mix together.  Add 1 egg beaten to the pork mixture. Mix well.

Remove the squash from the oven when starting to develop tenderness.  Turn the squash over (cut-side up) and place in a baking dish that supports the squash and prevents the halves from tipping over. Lightly sprinkle the squash flesh with cinnamon and ginger.  Divide the pork mixture between the squash halves.  Return to the over and bake for another 30 minutes or so until squash is tender all the way through. 

If desired, sprinkle each half with a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella or other cheese.  Return to the over for a few minutes to melt the cheese.