Paleo Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

This dinner was such a treat to eat! I thought it looked so festive for Fall and would make an adorable dinner if you are entertaining this season. When Zach took a bite, he said, “wow, this tastes like fall.” I’m not exactly sure what fall tastes like, but I’d have to agree with him. This is another recipe that uses all the in season fall vegetables that you should easily be able to find now at your local farmer’s market.

Paleo Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

 Serves 4

Ingredients:

 2 acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded (save those seeds for toasting!)

1 lb loose sausage, sage sausage works very well in this recipe, but you can use mild or any flavor you wish

2-3 cups kale, torn into pieces

½ large onion

4 oz mushrooms

1 celery rib, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large apple, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

½ cup almond flour (if you have nut allergies, you can just leave out the almond flour. It’s not necessary for the recipe, but it helps hold the stuffing together nicely)

salt and pepper

pinch of nutmeg

coconut oil, grass-fed butter, or olive oil for brushing

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the yellow-orange part of the cut acorn squash with a generous amount of coconut oil, olive oil or butter. Sprinkle salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg over each half. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

While that is cooking, fry the sausage in a pan until cooked. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and put it into a large bowl. Leave the fat in the pan. You might need to add additional 1-2 T of fat or oil (bacon fat, coconut oil, olive oil, or butter) if there is not enough. I added in about a tablespoon more of bacon fat. Saute onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, apple, kale and carrots for about 5 minutes. Put the vegetable mixture into the bowl with the sausage. Add beaten egg and almond flour and mix until combined. Fill the squash halves with the stuffing and bake covered for 20 minutes. Enjoy!