Acorn Squash with Brown Rice and Turkey Sausage

We liked this dish, but found that it was a little too healthy! It really needed a little more moisture, and just a touch of cheese. I'd already added some butter to the original version and cooked my rice in vegetable broth, but found it still needed something. Since we had 4 halves and only ate 2 tonight, I removed the filling from the remaining 2 and added some grated Parmesan and some chicken broth. I restuffed the shells and we'll see how it works out tomorrow night when we have the leftovers. I've rewritten the recipe accordingly.
We had a lovely arugula salad with this tonight.

Update: This was soooo much better with added broth and a little Parmesan the second night we had it. A keeper as rewritten.


Acorn Squash with Brown Rice and Turkey Sausage:
(Adapted from Good Housekeeping via Cullinary in the Desert)

2 acorn squash, each cut lengthwise.
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown (cooked in chicken broth or vegetable broth)
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs butter
~1/4+ cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
~1/3-1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth (enough to make the stuffing mixture looser and moist)
Preheat oven to 400.
Halve the squash lengthwise and place cut side down in a baking dish. Fill the dish with ~1/4" of water and place in oven for ~25-30 minutes. When fork tender remove from water and scoop out the seeds.

When cool enough to handle scoop out the squash leaving 1/4" of flesh in the shell. Place scooped out squash in a bowl and mash with the butter. Add the cooked rice to the squash and add ~1/3-1/2 cup of broth, the Parmesan cheese and the parsley, mixing to combine.

Preheat oven to 375

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring to break up the sausage, until browned. Remove the sausage adding to squash mixture bowl. In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium and add the onions, red bell pepper, garlic, salt and black pepper. Cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the squash mixture. Mix all until well combined.

Evenly divide the sausage mixture between the squash shells. Place on a large baking sheet lined with foil and bake until thoroughly warmed through, about 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.