Kyle's Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Kyle sent me this picture and recipe all on his own, I didn't even have to beg him for it! Love that :)
I haven't made this yet but how good does it sound? I can't wait to try it...his directions:


I took garlic and onion and raisins and sautéed them with some salt pepper, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and then mixed that into a sausage of your choice then cut the acorn squash in half and butter the inside and out, fill the cavity with the sausage mixture and bake at 375 for about an hour!

a couple things I clarified: (1) yep, raisins (2) he used maple flavored Jimmy Deans sausage but your favorite sausage will work (3) it's a little greasy when it starts baking before the squash absorbs it, he said you can drain it or cook the sausage separate before stuffing the squash but he didn't think it's too greasy doing it this way.

I bet the house smelled great!

Spinach Artichoke Spaghetti Squash

I saw this on Pinterest back in January and just got around to trying it, we LOVED it - it's so good, cheesy, and easy (what's not to like!).

I modified the recipe a little bit:

• didn't use the onion and garlic
• sautéed the artichokes to heat them up, sprinkled with garlic salt; then added the sour cream, neufchâtel cheese, and parmesan till creamy; added twice the amount of spinach and let it wilt down into the sauce. 
• I pulled apart the spaghetti squash strands with a fork and added it to the sauce in the pan, combine all and add salt and pepper to taste.
• put the mixture back into the squash shells, top with cheese and bake at 425' until melted about 10 minutes. 

I served this as a side to pork chops, but it would be really good with the addition of meat to the filling if you want. Ground sausage, chopped chicken...or just leave as a meatless meal - it's pretty hardy on its own. 

*note: if you haven't made spaghetti squash before give it a try, it's a nice substitute for pasta and very healthy. I cut off both ends and half it, remove the seeds, put cut side up in a covered microwaveable dish with a little water for about 10-12 minutes. Drain off the water; using a pair of tongs I stand the squash halves up in a large bowl and scrap the flesh with a fork into long strands. 

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Meatloaf

My friend gave me this idea yesterday and I couldn't wait long to try it, it sounded so good! You might question how this falls under my "31 Spook-tacular Days" theme - so did I haha - I guess since we have to eat in October and this seems like the perfect fall dish, I'm including it :)
My husband says it looks like a dragon's eye and I should have named it that, although I think it looks more like a sunflower...he said that's because I have a sunny disposition and see flowers, he sees dragons. HA! Made me laugh...

I cut off both ends of 2 acorn squash and scooped out the seeds; filled each half with about 1 cup of meatloaf (click there for my recipe) mixture and baked at 350' - normally I bake meatloaf for an hour or so but I didn't research baking a stuffed squash and this took almost 2 hours to get the squash cooked until it was soft... I should have pre-baked the squash to give it a head start. My meatloaf recipe makes 2 pans so I had lots left over that I didn't stuff into  the squash - I put that into a baking dish, leaving a channel all around the edges for any grease to run off, and baked it at the same time (for one hour),  I'll freeze that one for later. Really good, I will definitely be making this again.