Easy, Stuffed Acorn Squash for Busy Parents

This past week has been a whirlwind. I received a call from my niece and her husband. They needed help with their 9 month-old, as daycare didn’t have room for him to start until the following week. I planned to help with baby care, and figured I could also do some light chores and cooking.

Wow! How soon we forget the work that goes into caring for an infant. He is such a sweet boy, but like any baby, he wants what he wants, when he wants it! Believe me, I had no trouble getting to sleep those nights.

My niece is doing “no dairy,” (the baby has been colicky), so I planned to stuff the squash with breadcrumbs, sauteed veggies, olive oil, and turkey sausage. A couple of chopped turkey bacon rashers added a flavor punch. It needed a bit of “glue” to hold the bread crumbs together. Almond milk did the trick.

Have you noticed that young kids always seem to be the fussiest right while you are trying to prepare and serve dinner? (Oh, and forget about sitting down to actually eat it.)  What was great about this recipe was that I prepared it during nap time, covered the pan with plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge until an hour before dinner.

With a simple side salad, also prepped ahead, you have an easy and delicious way to end the day!

Ingredients:

3 acorn squash

3 slices whole grain bread

1/3 c. olive oil, or more to taste

1/4 c. chopped red, orange, or yellow bell pepper

1/4 c. chopped red onion

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 lb. turkey smoked sausage (bulk, or casings removed)

2 rashers cooked turkey bacon, chopped

1/4 c. almond milk

salt

pepper

 

Method:

Slice acorn squash in half, slice off stem end, and hollow out halves by using a spoon to remove seeds and strings from each half.

Set squash into a baking dish.

In a pan over medium low heat, saute turkey sausage, chopped bacon, pepper, onion, and celery. Add olive oil to the pan as you cook to keep ingredients moist.

Tear bread into small pieces and add to saute pan, again adding oil to moisten.

Turn off heat. Mix almond milk into the pan to soften bread and hold stuffing ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff acorn squash with mixture. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate, if you are not ready to bake yet.

One hour before serving, preheat oven to 350°F. Pour about 1 inch water into bottom of the baking dish, avoiding getting water in the squash. Put pan into oven and bake 1 hour, or until squash is soft.

Enjoy!

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