Author: Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com
Ingredients
1Acorn squash
½lbItalian sausage meat
1small apple
½small onion
1-2tbspoil
½tspcinnamon
Salt
4slicesof bacon
1tbspmaple syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a roasting pan by lining it with aluminum foil. Add 1” of water to the pan.
Cut the squash in two lengthwise and place cut side down on the prepared pan.
Roast for 40 minutes.
While squash is roasting, prepare the sausage stuffing.
Over medium heat, cook the sausage meat in 1 tablespoon of oil, breaking the meat up with a fork, until the meat is crumbled and browned. Use a wooden spatula to scrap up the brown bits from the pan. Remove the sausage to a bowl and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
Peel and dice the apple and ½ of small onion.
Add the apple and onion to the pan and cook until the apple is soft, and the onion is translucent.
Return the sausage meat to the pan and stir everything together. Season with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and salt to taste.
When the acorn squash is soft to the touch, remove it from the oven and turn right side up in the pan.
Increase the oven temperature to 475.
Mound the sausage stuffing in the cavity of the squash.
Cut four slices of bacon in half and place four half slices over the sausage stuffing in the squash.
Return the squash to the oven and cook until the bacon is brown and crispy, 15-20 minutes.
Brush the bacon with maple syrup and serve immediately.