Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Turkey Sausage

14 steps

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Rinse and clean 2 medium-sized acorn squash with water. Cut each squash in half and scoop out seeds and pulp. Save seeds if you want to roast them. Otherwise, discard the inside of the squash.
• Place each squash flesh side down on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
• Bake squash until tender, about 30 minutes. You will know the squash is cooked when a fork is able to completely pierce the flesh.
• Remove hot squash from cookie sheet and flip over, placing it on a cutting board to cool.
• If you don't have cooked quinoa on hand, then prepare according to package instructions. It will take about 20 minutes to cook. You only need 1/3 cup cooked for this recipe, so store extra in freezer or frig.
• Dice leeks and sauté in olive oil in a medium sized pan over medium heat for about 6 minutes. Be careful not to burn the leeks.
• Add Italian flavored turkey sausage to the skillet, crumble and cook thoroughly. This will take about 10 minutes.
• Add crushed garlic, kale, fresh ground black pepper, salt, and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir well and cover to cook for about 7 minutes until kale is wilted.
• Finally, add 1/3 cup of cooked quinoa to the skillet and mix.
• Divide this filling among the 4 squash halves. Each squash will take about ½ cup of filling.
• Sprinkle chopped walnuts and Parmesan cheese on top of each stuffed squash.
• Turn oven back on to 375F.
• Return squash to the oven to melt the Parmesan cheese and rewarm the squash. This will take about 10 minutes.

Tips:
In general, raw squash is difficult to cut. Make sure you have a sharp knife available when cutting the squash in ½. Use an 8 inch chef’s knife to cut the squash vertically (that is, from top to bottom). Make sure to stabilize the squash with one hand and cut with the other. To scoop the insides: try using a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the seeds and extra pulp from the squash.