Acorn Squash with Sausage Dressing

No - those white ramekins are not acorn squash halves - but they came out looking better than the picture of the squash. A sweet lady at our church shared part of her garden's produce and one Sunday we got three acorn squash. Made two good meals out two of them, and really messed up on one. When we got our next acorn squash gift, I wanted to make it special - and I wanted to make it savory. I ran across two recipes and ended up combining them, while not taking advantage of options mentioned.

So, here's the ingredients I ended up using:

1 pound of Italian sausage - your choice of how spicy, we chose a mid-range

1/2 yellow onion, chopped finely, but large enough to identify the pieces

1 apple, also finely chopped, but large enough to identify the pieces

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (it's a family preference)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon thyme (the garden is doing well) 

1/2 teaspoon very finely minced garlic

1/4 cup dried baking cranberries

1 cup soft, fresh breadcrumbs (I chopped them the same way I did the apples and onions)

1 egg

2 teaspoons milk

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 

And, here's how I put them together:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice the acorn in half from the stem, coming around back to the stem, turning the squash to separate the halves. Trim a bit from the bottom of each to help sit without rocking, but not deeply. Scoop out the seeds.
3. Place the halves on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and place in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
4. Cook the sausage until it is no longer pink, and remove pan from stove.
5. Combine the onion, apple, spices, and cranberries in a large bowl
6. Whisk the egg and milk, then add to the breadcrumbs. Add this mixture to the onion, apple mixture, along with most of the Parmesan cheese - just keep enough cheese to cover the tops when filled. Then add the sausageand combine all.
7. By this time your acorn squash should be ready to come out of the oven. When slightly cooled, fill with the sausage dressing mixture. Use ramekins for the remainder - as I obviously did. Top with remaining Parmesan and return all to the oven for another 25 minutes.

This is very adaptable. In one recipe, it was suggested to add a cup of fresh finely chopped spinach - I was tempted, but Beloved Husband really doesn't like spinach and he did try this recipe. Another recipe suggested taking the meat from the squash and add it to the dressing. Purely a personal choice. 

The spices are, too, a personal choice. I used what we liked - and omitted some suggested in the recipes I looked through. That is totally up to what your family likes. Another recipe added a bit of sweetness, suggesting maple syrup. I can see where that would be very good. Cutting the cooked squash into bite-sized pieces, mixing with sausage mixture, and you have a good casserole for a fall side-dish.

Oh, yes - another suggestion was mushrooms. Once again, I'll have to try that outside our home. Beloved Husband doesn't do well with mushrooms. I can, however, see them as a welcome addition to this dish. Just as I can see the Italian sausage being turkey or chicken instead of pork. Probably not for me, and that's totally a personal preference. 

The true key is to enjoy adaptable dishes and make them your own. I took parts of three different online recipes to make this one mine - and not one of them included fresh lemon thyme. Be brave, and enjoy.