Stuffed Acorn Squash

This winter and into spring, I have made this dish a few different times.  It keeps getting better and better.  In The Joy of Cooking, there are two baked squash dishes that were the combined inspirations for what I end up making.  At this point, I just make it up as I go and hope it tastes good.

Ingredients: 

acorn squash, halved and seeded

olive oil

cinnamon

nutmeg

2 chicken sausages, chopped

3 cloves of garlic

1 small yellow onion

1 parsnip, peeled and cubed

1 apple, cubed

five leaves fresh basil, shredded

dash dried thyme

small handful raisins

small handful dried cherries

6 dried apricots, chopped

1 C beer, Woodchuck (apple or pear flavored), or apple cider

1/2 C orange juice (or orange-mango-peach)

optional: splash of rum
optional: blueberry syrup

salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat the over to 400.  Then, cut the acorn squash in half with a hefty knife.  Be patient.  Next, scoop out the seeds.

Drizzle a little bit of oil on the acorn squash and rub it in.  Then, drizzle a little bit of blueberry syrup over the acorn squash.  Sprinkle the acorn squash with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Once the oven is preheated, put the squash in a baking pan, cut side up.  Put about a 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of the baking pan. Bake for about an hour.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan.  Then, add the slices of chicken sausage and brown.  Peel and cut the parsnip, and add it to the pan. 

Add the chopped onion and garlic to the pan.  Cook for about five more minutes.  Then, add the liquids!  This time around I added beer (an October brew of some sort) and orange-mango-peach juice.  This is the point when you would add rum or apple cider if that's what you want.  Add the apples, raisins, cherries, apricots, thyme, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.  Turn up the heat to boil.

Once boiling, simmer it down.

Not yet - - - simmer it down a little more.

That's it.  If the acorn squash is still cooking, cover the stuffing and remove from heat.

Once the squash is ready, take it out of the pan and put it in a bowl.

Scoop the stuffing into the squash. You are done!