The day after I made this, I brought leftovers to work for lunch. One of my co-workers took one look at it and said “Eating Well magazine?” She had, apparently, made the same thing earlier in the week. But of course, how could anyone not be tempted by acorn squash stuffed with beans and sausage? I am certainly glad I was tempted because this was amazing. It was one of those great dinners, too, that looks incredibly impressive but doesn’t really take much effort.
I’m sorry Miss Crystal wasn’t here to enjoy this. I thought of her and her risotto-stuffed pumpkin the whole time I was eating it. As she would say, stuffed squash is a quintessentially Laura kind of dinner. And yeah, anything with beans and sausage is a pretty Laura kind of dinner, too.
Eating Well is really starting to become a favored recipe source. It’s nice to know that most of the recipes are healthy, and they’re also creative and not too time consuming. Which is awesome because Creative in the Kitchen is not something I am feeling these days.
Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash
(I did change the recipe just a bit, because I didn’t want to make enough food for six people. But you can also check out the original recipe.)
- 2 acorn squash
- 1 T. olive oil
- 3 links of turkey sausage
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 T. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 pint of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- a bit of salt and pepper
- a few dashes of hot sauce (I used Cholula)
- 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese
Preheat the oven to 375F, and coat a baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil (about half a tablespoon, maybe).
Cut the squash in half. The recipe said horizontally, but I recommend cutting it vertically, kind of through the stem. If they are really round and won’t lay properly cut side up, cut a little bit off the side to create a flatter surface. Place the squash cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, until they are nice and soft.
While the squashes are cooking, heat the rest of the olive oil (about half a tablespoon should be enough) in a large skillet. Take the casings off the sausages and add them to the skillet, breaking them up with the back of a spoon as they cook. Cook the sausage for about four or five minutes, until it’s starting to brown. Then add the chopped onions and bell peppers. Continue to cook, stirring often, for about another five minutes, or until the peppers are soft. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and saute quickly, for a bit less than a minute, just so everything is mixed together. Then add the beans, tomatoes, and the hot sauce, and season a bit with salt and pepper. Stir it all together well, and then cover the pan and reduce the heat to low, so the mixture is just simmering. Cook it for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down.
Once the squash are done baking, reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Let the squash cool a bit until they are cool enough to touch, and then turn them over and fill them with the turkey and bean mixture. Top each one with a bit of swiss cheese and bake them again, for about another eight minutes. You might want to turn the broiler on at the very end to brown the cheese a little. Or you might not. It’s up to you.
This really was awesome. The stuffing was just spicy enough but not overwhelming. The tomatoes and the squash were a great combination. The balance of ingredients was great. And it’s really really fun to each stuffed squash. I suspect you’ll be seeing more stuffed things as the winter progresses and Boston gets colder. And probably also more sausage, because sausage is swell.