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Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello

This savory Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello is a must-have dish for your Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday table.

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello

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During fall in the US, butternut squash is a stable in most grocery stores.  This stuffed butternut squash with apple, sausage and portobello is a fun way to prepare it. Here, you use the crater that’s left when you scoop out the seeds and “meat” as a vessel to stuff with a savory mix of spicy sausage and sage. The combination of sausage, meaty Portobello mushrooms, sweet apples and crunchy walnuts rounds out the flavor of this dish. You can use this as a hearty side dish or even a main meal.

The trick is to buy a large enough butternut that you have a deep enough vessel for all that delicious sausage and apple stuffing. Once you remove the seeds, just pop both sections of the butternut squash into the oven and bake until tender. Depending on the size of the squash, this could take about 45 minutes. While the squash is baking, prepare the sausage mixture and set aside. Once the squash is finished baking and the flesh is tender, just remove a bit more of the flesh to make a larger cavity for all that yummy meat mixture. Add the scooped flesh to the sausage mixture, stir to combine, and then fill the butternut sections with all that delicious goodness.

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello collage

Top it with a little grated Parmesan cheese and pop it back in the oven to bake for another 25 minutes. Again, you can use this as a main meal or a side dish. It makes a lovely presentation, so choose a large enough dish and/or platter(s) on which to serve. Enjoy!

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello

Other recipes you may like:
Autumn Roasted Vegetables With Feta
Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin
Bourbon Pecan Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello
 
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Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 butternut squash, cut in half, seeds and pulp removed
2 T. olive oil
  • 1 lb. spicy Italian pork sausage
  • 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and finely minced
  • ½ red onion, chopped
  • 1 ½ cup baby Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • 2 T. fresh sage leaves, julienned
  • 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into small chunks
2 t. ground cinnamon
  • 4 oz. chopped walnuts
  • 3 T. cold butter, cut into small chunks
  • 2 T. brown sugar (optional)
  • Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish (optional) 
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  2. Spray two 13 x 9” glass baking dishes with non-stick cooking spray. Place butternut squash halves in glass dishes, cut side up. Brush exposed edges lightly with olive oil.

  3. Place both dishes in oven on middle rack at 375 degrees. Bake until soft enough to scoop out interior with a spoon, approximately 45 – 50 minutes. (Actual baking time will vary depending on individual oven temperature, size of squash and how ripe it is).

  4. While the squash are baking, add sausage to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat. While the sausage is cooking, break it into small pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon.

  5. After sausage is mostly browned, add garlic, red onion and chopped mushrooms to the skillet and cook over medium heat for several minutes until the mushrooms are soft, stirring occasionally.

  6. Add fresh sage, chopped apples, and cinnamon to pan. Continue cooking over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until apples become soft, stirring occasionally.

  7. Remove from heat and if necessary, drain excess liquid from skillet. Stir in chopped walnuts and season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

  8. When ready, remove squash from oven and allow to cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

  9. Remove squash one at a time from hot glass baking dish and place on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, trace a ½” inch border around the perimeter of each squash. Scoop out all of the squash inside the border and reserve the cooked flesh in a large bowl. Be careful not to puncture the exterior of the squash skin during this process.

  10. When finished, return each empty squash shell to the baking dish.

  11. Cut the cooked squash that you just scooped out into bite-sized chunks and add it to sausage mixture. Gently fold mixture together until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

  12. Spoon sausage mixture into empty squash cavities and top each with chunks of butter, brown sugar (if desired) and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

  13. Place in 350-degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until filling is nicely browned. Remove from oven and top with additional Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately while hot.

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This savory Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello is a must-have dish for your Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday table.

This savory Stuffed Butternut Squash with Apple, Sausage and Portobello is a must-have dish for your Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday table.

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Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin makes a perfect holiday side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This zesty recipe combines Brussels sprouts with two cheeses, bacon, garlic, yummy cream and a topping of breadcrumbs, which can be gluten-free if you need it to be!

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

For some reason, some people don’t care for Brussels Sprouts. I’m not one of them! I love them prepared just about any way. For years, my go to sprouts recipe was my Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan Cheese, which is amazing, but I think this one may be my new favorite! I bet this recipe will make the haters change their minds about Brussels Sprouts! Test it out during the holidays and report back.

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

It’s really easy to put this together. Trim and boil the Brussels Sprouts, drain them, rough chop them and add them to a buttered baking dish, like this one:


Season them with salt, pepper and garlic powder; add cream, crumbled bacon, the two cheeses, and top it with breadcrumbs. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs if you need to – I did. I just added a few slices of gluten-free bread to my Vitamix, hit the button, and instant breadcrumbs!

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

Bake it, plate it, add remaining bacon crumbles for extra goodness and boom! Yumminess served!

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

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Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin
 
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Cook time
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Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin makes a perfect holiday side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the dish
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, outer leaves and stems removed
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs (use gluten-free, if you need to)
  • 6 slices bacon, fully cooked and crumbled
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder (or more to taste)
  • Himalayan Sea salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F and butter a 2-quart baking dish.

  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. Drain the Brussels sprouts well and let cool for a few minutes before attempting to chop.

  4. Once cooled, coarsely chop the Brussels Sprouts.

  5. Add the Brussels Sprouts to the prepared baking dish and toss with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Sprinkle in ¾ of the bacon crumbs (reserving the rest for garnish) and spread mixture out evenly in dish.

  6. Pour the cream on top, then sprinkle in this order: cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Dot the with the butter pieces.

  7. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for approx. 10 more minutes or until top is golden brown.

  8. Add reserved crumbled bacon to top and serve.

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Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin makes a perfect holiday side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This zesty recipe combines Brussels sprouts with two cheeses, bacon, garlic, yummy cream and a topping of breadcrumbs, which can be gluten-free if you need it to be!

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin makes a perfect holiday side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This zesty recipe combines Brussels sprouts with two cheeses, bacon, garlic, yummy cream and a topping of breadcrumbs, which can be gluten-free if you need it to be!

6 Comments

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad

For a twist on a classic Italian salad, try my Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad.

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

For a twist on the classic Italian Caprese salad, I use mini heirlooms and roast the salad to intensify the flavors. Mini heirloom tomatoes are readily available in grocery stores in the US these days, but this salad will, of course, work beautifully with any large heirloom tomatoes you find. I like to vary the tomato colors. In addition to the traditional red, try to find yellow, green, and even the darker shade, which looks between purple and black. The green of the basil and the white of the mozzarella cheese balls will create a gorgeous display.

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad
This salad is so easy to put together. I drizzled a little olive oil in the bottom of a casserole dish, sliced the larger mini tomatoes and left a few of the smaller ones whole and added them to the dish. Salt them with some Himalayan sea salt. Add a few basil leaves (not all of them!) and roast  for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to soften. The basil leaves will turn brown; that’s okay, you will remove them before serving and replace with fresh basil leaves.

For the last 5 minutes or so of the roasting, add the mozzarella cheese balls – not too many – and let them just begin to melt during the last few minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven, make sure the roasted basil leaves have been removed and replace with fresh basil leaves.

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad
Admire the pretty salad! Take a photo of it if you like! At this point, you could serve the salad as is; it’s delicious! However, I like to drizzle just a wee bit more olive oil and just a touch of balsamic vinegar over it before serving.

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad
Enjoy!
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.



Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Roasted Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Caprese Salad
Author:
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
  • You can customize the serving sizes depending on how much of each ingredient you choose to use, therefore, no set amount of each ingredient is given.

  • Mini Heirloom tomatoes, slice larger ones; leave small ones whole
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Fresh mozzarella mini cheese balls, or mozzarella, sliced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Himalayan Sea Salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

  2. Drizzled a little olive oil in the bottom of a casserole dish.

  3. Sliced the larger mini tomatoes and leave the smaller ones whole. Add tomatoes to the dish.

  4. Salt tomatoes.

  5. Add a few basil leaves (not all of them) and roast for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to soften. The basil leaves will turn brown; that’s okay, you will remove them before serving and replace with fresh basil leaves.

  6. Remove from oven and add mozzarella cheese balls.

  7. Return to oven for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese begins to melt.

  8. Remove from the oven, and remove wilted basil leaves. Replace with fresh basil leaves.

  9. Serve as is, or drizzle just a little more olive oil and just a touch of balsamic vinegar over the salad before serving.

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Roasted-Tomato-Basil-Mozzarella-Caprese-Salad

Roasted-Tomato-Basil-Mozzarella-Caprese-Salad

 

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