Best Sunnys Italian Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipes

SAUSAGE STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Bake the squash: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. With a sharp, sturdy chef's knife, carefully cut the squash in half from stem to base. Scoop out and discard the stringy core and seeds. Arrange the halves cut-sides up on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush each half with 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until the edges begin to wrinkle and the flesh is fork-tender. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
• While the squash bakes, prepare the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage. Brown the meat, breaking it apart into small pieces for 3 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms, onion, apple, salt, pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and minced garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sausage is cooked through, the vegetables and apple are softened, have given up liquid, and the liquid has cooked off, about 8 additional minutes.
• When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out its flesh, leaving a wall all the way around that is about ¼-inch thick. Add the scooped squash to the pan with the sausage. Add the herbs and ¼ cup Parmesan. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
• Mound the filling inside of the hollowed squash halves. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the filling is nice and hot, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with additional fresh herbs as desired. Serve hot.

SUNNY'S EASY SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOM RIGATONI PIE

Steps:

• For the sauce. In a pan with straight sides on medium heat, add the olive oil and sausage. Crumble the sausage into bits, not boulders, and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until wilted and darkened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with pepper and remove from the heat. Add the sausage back to the pan along with the pasta sauce and stir.
• For the pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until very al dente. Drain and spread out on a cooling rack to prevent sticking. Let cool slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add the rigatoni to a bowl and sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley. Gently toss with your hands.
• Coat the inside bottom and sides of a springform pan with cooking spray. Begin lining the rigatoni on end (vertically) around the edge of the pan, creating a border. Pack the pasta pieces tightly, but not so tight that the holes in the rigatoni close. Toss the remaining rigatoni in the sauce, then pour into the center of the pan. Gently press the mixture to level it off.
• For the topping: Arrange the provolone slices in an overlapping spiral to cover the pasta mixture, then top with the mozzarella. Gently press everything down with your hands. Bake until the top is bubbly and golden around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before releasing the springform. Serve topped with Parmesan, parsley and basil.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE-STUFFED SQUASH

Steps:

• Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Place cut side down in a microwave-safe 11x7-in. baking dish. Cover and microwave on high for 10-12 minutes or until tender., Meanwhile, crumble sausage into a large skillet; add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper., Turn squash cut side up. Stuff with sausage mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

SQUASAGE (SAUSAGE-STUFFED SQUASH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet or line with aluminum foil.
• Place squash, cut sides down, on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 1 hour. Flip squash halves over and set aside to cool.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Add celery, mushrooms, and onion; cook and stir until celery is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
• Beat egg in a large bowl; stir in sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Stir cheese mixture into sausage mixture. Fill squash halves with sausage filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

SUNNY'S SWEET AND SPICY BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, fennel seed, paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Break the beef into chunks and add to a large bowl. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the top then with your hand gently mix the beef until the seasoning is evenly distributed. Divide the mixture into 8 even portions and roll gently into balls. Place back in the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Remove the sausage from the refrigerator and one by one place each ball between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a meat pounder, flatten out the sausage balls into 1/8-inch thick patties.
• In a large saute pan or griddle over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and cook the sausage patties in batches. Sear on one side until caramelized and golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then flip to cook just a minute more on the other side.

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH WITH SAUSAGE AND KALE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully halve cut each squash in half through the stem, removing the stem if still attached. Scoop out and discard the seeds, and place the squash halves on a sheet pan, cut-side up. (You may want to trim the bottom of the squash halves slightly so they don't wobble on the pan.) Brush each squash generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until the flesh is very tender when pierced with a knife, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, if using the hazelnuts, heat a large skillet slicked with olive oil over medium. Add the hazelnuts and toast, tossing often, until the skins begin to split and the nuts are fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a cutting board to cool. Once cooled, roll the nuts around on the board with the palm of your hand to remove some of the skins. Discard the skins, coarsely chop the nuts, sprinkle lightly with salt, then set aside.
• Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet and heat over medium-low. Add the shallots and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the sage and garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the kale and cook, tossing, just until it begins to wilt.
• Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sausage, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, crumbling the sausage with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until about half the liquid has evaporated. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Using a small spoon, gently scrape about 3 heaping tablespoons of flesh from the cavity of each squash (you should have about 1 cup altogether) and add it to the sausage, along with the rice and Parmesan. Mix thoroughly until combined, breaking up any chunks of squash.
• Divide the sausage mixture among the squash halves, filling each one to the top. (Depending on the size of the squash cavities, you may need to slightly heap the filling.) Return the sheet pan to the oven to roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and starting to brown on top.
• Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and parsley, if using, and serve hot.

ACORN SQUASH STUFFED WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE & PENNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet, flesh side up and add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Cover with alluminum foil and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
• In a large saute pan, over medium heat, brown the sausage and onions, about 6 to 8 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss the sausage and onions with the pasta sauce, pasta, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Spoon the pasta mixture into the cavity of each squash. Place the filled squashes on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
• Bake until the squash is heated through and the cheese melts, about 20 minutes.

SAUSAGE-STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Halve squash lengthwise; discard seeds. Place squash in a microwave-safe dish, cut side down. Microwave, covered, on high until tender, 10-12 minutes. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage with onion over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes; drain. Remove from heat; stir in spinach, cranberries and bread crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk; add to sausage mixture and toss until moistened. , Turn over squash; fill with sausage mixture. Microwave, covered, until a thermometer inserted in stuffing reads 165°, 2-3 minutes.