Sausage & Quinoa Stuffed Squash

Made this last night and it will become a winter staple in our household. SO GOOD. The recipe called for two acorn squash but I had one buttercup squash on hand so I used that instead. I think it'd work great with pumpkin or any larger squash.

There was lots of filling leftover after stuffing the squash. Just finished a delicious lunch of the sausage/quinoa filling that I scrambled with eggs, served in a corn tortilla.

Here's the original recipe. The recipe below is based on my modifications.

Ingredients

• 1 medium- to large- squash, halved and seeded (roast the seeds too, for sprinkling at the end)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground pork sausage (I used spicy italian)
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ cup celery, finely diced
• 4 smallish multi-colored and multi-spicy peppers (or whatever you have to taste), finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 apple, diced
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• parsley, chopped
•  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Roast squash on pan for 45 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender. After cooking, I scooped out some of the squash to make room for more of the filling.
3. While the squash is cooking, heat a large sauté pan with olive oil. Add the sausage and brown. Add the onion, celery, peppers, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is tender and translucent.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped thyme and rosemary. Stir in the quinoa and apples. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Scoop the mixture into the roasted acorn squash halves. Top with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve topped with a garnish of chopped fresh parsley and the roasted seeds.