sweet dumpling squash with sausage stuffing
I saw these beautiful squash in the grocery store the other day and decided to make up a recipe for them.
It’s nothing complicated — just roasted squash stuffed with regular ol’ Thanksgiving stuffing, which is the obsession of my daughter, Sydney. Do you think she’ll eat squash if it’s stuffed with her favorite thing? Doubtful, but worth a try.
Ingredients
2 sweet dumpling squash, approximately the same size, cut in half and seeded
1/2 package of herb stuffing mix (the crumby kind, not the cubed kind)
1/2 roll of breakfast sausage (the ground up kind you use to make patties)
a couple of stalks of celery, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 cup of chicken stock
1-2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (I prefer to grate my own, but feel free to take a shortcut here!)
Heat the oven to 375. Rub the squash halves with olive or canola oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on a baking pan, flesh side up, for 45-55 minutes. Check to make sure they’re not getting too brown on top (if so, cover with foil). They’re done when VERY tender to a fork poke.
While the squash are roasting, cook the sausage, onion, and celery in a pan over medium heat, breaking up the sausage and stirring frequently until very well done (it’s best when the sausage gets a little brown and crunchy, but don’t let the veggies burn).
Pour the stuffing mix into a big bowl and stir in about 1/2 cup of chicken stock. You want the stuffing the absorb all the stock and get a little soft, but not soggy. Add more stock if needed. Stir in the cooked sausage and veggies.
When the squash are cooked, stuff with the stuffing, cover with the cheese, and return to oven until cheese is a little bit brown on top (10-15 minutes but keep an eye on it).
Let it sit for a few minutes before enjoying. Apparently the skin is edible but I don’t like the texture, so I use my fork to scrape out the squash along with bites of the stuffing.
Let me know what you think!
