Sausage & Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

By á-48473

Ingredients

• 2 Acorn Squash
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 lb sausage meat (honey garlic works well, casings removed if not bulk sausage--can just cook the meat)
• 4 strips crispy cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 shallot finely diced (or 1/2 a regular onion diced)
• 1 red apple diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/3 cup Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
• 4 swiss cheese slices (or your favorite cheese, sliced or shredded)

Details

Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 60mins

Preparation

Step 1

Break the stem off the squash if it's still attached and split the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds to form a bowl in the center of each half. Sprinkle each with salt, pepper and the curry powder.

In a large frying pan crumble the sausage meat into small chunks and begin to sautee over medium heat. Sprinkle the uncooked sausage with a teaspoon of black pepper. Add the crumbled bacon and continue cooking until the sausage is browned and cooked through. With a slotted spoon remove the meat from the pan but keep the grease in the pan. Add the diced shallot (or onion), apple and garlic to the reserved grease and cook a couple minutes, just until the onion begins to soften.

In a large bowl combine the cooked sausage and bacon with the sauteed onion, apple and garlic. Add the softened Philadelphia cream cheese and blend well with the other ingredients. Add the Maple Syrup (or Honey) and stir well. Tip: If the cream cheese doesn't blend well try microwaving everything in the bowl for 30 seconds or so until it does blend well.

Spoon the Sausage & Apple stuffing into each half. It's ok to mound it up a little higher then the squash. Make sure you pack it into the bowl of the squash fairly well.

Preheat the grill to 450F and set up for indirect grilling. When the BBQ has reached cooking temperature, place the aluminum pan containing the stuffed acorn squash on the grill, not over direct heat. Close the lid. Every 10 minutes or so, lift the lid and rotate the pan so all the squash are equally cooked. Close the lid after each rotation.

After 55 minutes or so, lift the lid and place your choice of cheese over the stuffed squash. In this picture I put strips of swiss cheese slices on each piece. It melts quickly and doesn't add an overpowering flavor to the food. After several minutes, lift the lid and make sure the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.