Ingredients:
1 pound Premio Premio’s Sweet Italian Sausage, casings removed and crumbled
1/2 cup sweet onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
4 butternut squash, medium size or 6 small size, peeled, cut into halves and seeded
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Fontina cheese, shredded
- Always cook pork sausage to a minimum internal temperature of 160° F using a meat thermometer.
- Always cook chicken sausage to a minimum internal temperature of 165° F using a meat thermometer.
How to make Baked Stuffed Butternut Squash:
1. In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil to medium-high heat. Add Premio Sausage, onions, bell peppers, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper; cook for 2 1/2minutes or until almost cooked thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the garlic to sausage-vegetable mixture and continue cooking for an additional 2 1/2 minutes, or until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and drain cooked sausage-vegetable mixture onto a plate lined well with paper towels, to drain excess grease; set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon of softened butter.
4. Pierce several holes throughout each halved squash, with a fork. Using a melon baller, grapefruit spoon or a sharp edged spoon, trim away each halved squash on the top center handle part, and make an extra 2-inch wide, lengthwise, canal shaped indention leading to the bottom seeded hallowed out cavity. Lightly butter the inside of each halved squash with the remaining 2 tablespoons of softened butter.
5. Divide the stuffing sausage-vegetable mixture between the prepared halves of squash, to add the filling into the newly added indentions and cavities. Sprinkle over top of each filled stuffed squash halves with equal amounts of Fontina cheese.
6. Place cheese stuffed squash halves into the prepared, buttered baking pan about an 1-inch apart. Cover baking pan with a large sheet of aluminum foil over the top and sides.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 Minutes, for medium size squash, and for small size squash, 40 to 50 minutes, or until stuffed squashed is cooked thoroughly and squash is tender when pierced lightly with a fork. Place onto a cooling rack, remove sheet of aluminum foil and let cool 5 minutes to set.
8. Serve hot.
SERVINGS: 8
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