Meatless Monday: Stuffed Squash

One of the staples every year at the Wisconsin Test Kitchen's Thanksgiving table is stuffed acorn squash. A hearty stuffing of mushrooms, sunflower seeds and dried apricots is a great vegetarian dish, and something even the  meat eaters enjoy. 

Here's the recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook:  http://www.food.com/recipe/comprehensively-stuffed-squash-a-moosewood-recipe-444688

A few weeks ago, the Wisconsin Test Kitchen stumbled across another stuffed squash recipe, and we thought we'd give it a try in preparation for Thanksgiving. We had received a few beautiful acorn squash from Door to Door Organics; and thought they'd look good full of apple, celery, mushrooms and protein. 

So, how did the new recipe stack up compared to the tried and true classic? Pretty darn well, with a notable difference.

The difference is, of course, meat. The original recipe called for ground turkey sausage. We used ground pork since we have a freezer full of it. However, you could just as easily substitute Boca or soy meat crumbles, or even quinoa. *Directions for substitutions in the notes below

Cool Dads Stuffed Squash

2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1lb. pork sausage
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
3 celery rib, finely chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the melted butter and garlic. Brush the inside and outside of each squash with the butter mix. Place the squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until fork tender.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. 

When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate, set aside.

 To the skillet add the onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. 

Add the apples and cook for another 2 minutes.

Return the sausage to the skillet then remove from heat. 

Season with salt, and pepper. Stir in the breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Add the egg and stir to combine.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the four squash halves. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.

Notes from the Test Kitchen:

-If you decide to substitute meat with Boca crumbles- no modifications need to be made to the recipe. Just brown the crumbles, remove them from the stove, and cook the vegetables. Add the crumbles back in once the vegetables are sauteed, and you're done. 

-If substituting quinoa, prepare 1 cup of it. Once you're done sauteeing the vegetables, stir the quinoa in, and stuff the squash. You might only want to bake for 8-10 minutes to prevent the quinoa from drying out.

-You might end up with extra stuffing. That's okay: serve it with the squash. We found our ratio of stuffing to squash was off, and we enjoyed having additional stuffing to put inside the squash as we were eating. 

We hope you enjoy this hearty fall dish as much as we did!

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew