Stuffed Acorn Squash

Making stuffed acorn squash is simple. Acorn squash lends itself to becoming a self-made bowl just right for stuffing and becoming the main course in a hearty dinner. The hardest part is making sure the squash is fully cooked. The following recipe has you bake the squash before stuffing. If you want, you can microwave instead of baking. It will take about 15 minutes or so on high to soften up the squash meat.

Ingredients

1 Acorn Squash
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
cooking spray
1/4 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound ground pork sausage
vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut the acorn squash lengthwise and pull out the seeds and “guts”. Salt and pepper the squash meat and lightly spray with cooking oil. Place in a baking dish flesh side down, make sure it is flesh side down, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until flesh is fork-tender.

While the squash is baking, cook beef and pork in 1 tablespoon of oil on medium high heat until well browned, stirring frequently to crumble. When cooked, drain the fat and set aside. In the same skillet, cook the onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Combine beef and pork with cheese and onions, and spoon mixture into squash halves.

Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and squash is lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you are a vegetarian, you can stuff with hearty vegetables and top with panko breadcrumbs. You can take this basic recipe and make it your own with whatever ingredients and herbs you like.

Look at other squash recipes