Stuffed Butternut Squash

It's fall here, and my delight with orange produce is at its highest. This savory squash dish is a perfect fall side or main dish. I enjoyed it as a main with a side of salad and applesauce. Mmmmm

Ingredients: 

1 medium butternut squash

1 link sausage, casing removed, or vegan sausage

1 tsp olive oil

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 Anaheim chili, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1 Tbs chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp dried sage

1/4 cup cream cheese, or vegan cream cheese

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425F. Cut butternut squash in half, lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Spray a cookie sheet with oil and place the squash cut side down on the sheet. Roast for about 15 minutes, then turn over and continue roasting until the squash is tender, about 30 more minutes. Prepare the stuffing while the squash roasts. Place a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the sausage, breaking it into small pieces while it cooks. Remove the sausage from the pan, draining the remaining fat. Add the olive oil to the pan along with the celery, garlic, onion, mushrooms, and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped fresh sage to the vegetable mixture. When the squash is tender, remove it from the oven. Scoop out some of the squash, leaving about a 1/2 inch thick layer of squash. Chop the squash, then add it to the vegetables. Divide the vegetables between the two squash halves. Top each half with some of the cream cheese. Roast an additional 10 minutes, until the top of the mixture begins to turn slightly brown. Sprinkle each half with the parsley, then serve. 

Serves 2 generously, or 4 as a side dish

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Adding sausage to anything makes it taste better ... especially to the meat lovers in the house. There are several plant based sausages available, if you want to make this a vegan dish!