Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

A while back, Thomas and I got a second-hand craft/idea/cook-book called "Homespun Christmas". We decided since it is the season, after all, that we would try out some of the recipes.

One success we have had is a recipe (p. 78) for sausage stuffed acorn squash. We had never had acorn squash before, so it was an interesting experiment for that reason alone! We learned that acorn squash looks and smells a lot like pumpkin. It seems sweeter if the outside has some orange spots. To really get all the squash meat out you will need a spoon to eat this dish, or perhaps it would be helpful to peel the squash before baking.

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash
1 lb. pork sausage meat
3 medium acorn squash
1/4 c butter/margarine (melted)
10-oz. package frozen mixed vegetables
1 c cheddar cheese, cubed (we did not use this much... more like 1/4 c shredded)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Brown sausage on stove. Drain and discard fat.
3. Cut squash in half length-wise and remove seeds. Place halves, cut side up, in baking dish (we actually only used 2 squash and they fit in a 9x13" pan... but there was too much filling for just the 4 halves).
4. Brush insides with melted butter and sprinkle with salt.
5. In a medium bowl (or the pan you used to brown sausage), combine sausage, vegetables, cheese, and salt to taste.
6. Divide mixture among squash halves. Brush with remaining butter.
7. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake 1-1 1/2 hours, or until squash is fork tender.

Ready for another heart-stopper?!

So, as you may or may not have realized, we like bacon around here! (Quiche, bacon-wrapped eggs, bacon pizza...)

This time, we may have gone over the top. Just keep in mind that the Bacon Explosion was somebody else's creation! :o) And don't worry... we kept it a balanced meal. Scroll down for the Strawberry & Spinach Salad.

Bacon Explosion

2 lbs bacon strips
2 lbs Italian sausage
barbecue sauce

See the Bacon Explosion website for more detailed directions.

1. Weave about half of the bacon together on a baking dish.
2. Add any spices you want to add.
3. Spread sausage over bacon mat.
4. Cook the rest of the bacon to your liking. Crumble it up and put it on top of the sausage.
5. Add barbecue sauce.
6. Roll up the sausage with the bacon pieces inside.
7. Conclude assembly by rolling up bacon weave around sausage creation.
8. Now, you can either barbecue this as suggested in their website, or you can bake it like we did. We set the oven at around 250 degrees (F) and let it cook for about 2 hours.

Please dispose of the grease safely. You will end up with... A LOT! Let it cool before you pour it into a container to throw away. Please don't pour it down your sink... this will cause problems for you!

Strawberry & Spinach Salad

1 bunch of spinach
1 pound of strawberries
about 1/2 cup walnuts
about 2-3 Tablespoons sugar
salad dressing of your choice - we used Brianna's poppyseed dressing but this would be great with a vinaigrette.

1. Rinse spinach and take stems off. Keep the leaves; dry them and place them in your salad bowl.
2. Rinse strawberries. Remove leaves and slice.
3. Chop/crush walnuts. You'll want them to be in small pieces. They garnish this salad.
4. Heat sugar in small sauce pan. Once it is liquid, QUICKLY add walnuts, stirring, and remove from heat. Now you have caramelized walnuts.
5. Add strawberry slices and caramelized walnuts to spinach. Dress with dressing of your choice. Enjoy!

We devoured our Bacon Explosion with the Strawberry & Spinach salad and some mashed potatoes to make it a balanced meal.

Our nieces, Lydia and Ruby, really loved this dinner!

 oxox