You really can’t go wrong with acorn squash, pork, or twice baking. AM I RIGHT?!
Three things led to the creation of this recipe.
- My (almost) sister in-law, Sharon made something very similar on Thanksgiving and it was one of my favorite dishes of the day. Hers might have had Italian sausage or plain ground pork – not sure. I ate it too fast to care. But it was a lovely replacement for the sweet potato “casserole” my cousin used to make. I think my cousin’s ratio was something like 1 cup of sugar for every sweet potato and the topping alone had a glycemic index of 4,000. I’m not about that life…anymore. Sharon’s recipe was savory and as much as I loved it with the other Thanksgiving dinner foods, I couldn’t stop thinking about it as a breakfast food. So why not recreate it and go full out breakfast?!
- I had another recipe assignment for my NTC training and these assignments are my favorite! I don’t know why, but these assignments get me thinking about the food quality, macronutrient ratios, and micronutrient quantity way more than I do on a daily basis. And I think about these things A LOT, so that’s definitely saying something. The one requirement for the recipe is that it’s nutrient dense, properly prepared, and whole foods based. Not Whole Foods the store. However, that’s usually a given. But not today, sadly. Whole Foods stopped carrying my beloved Mulay’s Sausage and I’ve had to make the long trek (across the street) to Bristol Farms to buy it #FirstWorldProblems. But for real, it’s worth the trek. Mulay’s Sausage is the absolute best sausage I’ve ever had. No sugar, no nitrates, no gluten, no soy, no dairy, no calls to my plumber. Plus, it’s humanely raised without hormones or antibiotics. Seriously, buy some.
- I have an absurd amount of squash right now that I store on top of my fridge and every time I open the freezer, they fall and almost kill me. Just bein’ real. That was a huge factor in why I chose to make a squash dish. Not tryin’ to die today!
I baked the casserole in a casserole dish, but afterwards I realized that I could have saved myself the dish by cooking it all in the cast iron skillet. So if you don’t take photos of your everything you eat, like I do, just do it in the damn skillet. So much easier.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. Tanner ate most of mine, so I’m about to go make another one. Thank god for pork.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 90 minutes |
| Passive Time | 60 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash small-medium sized
- 1 package Mulay's Breakfast Sausage If using another brand or plain ground pork, use 1 pound
- 1 bunch kale
- 2 Tbsp fresh sage, divided
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp fennel seed
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cut two acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place them face down on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until fork tender.
- While the acorn squash bakes, break apart and cook sausage in a heated cast iron skillet. When fully cooked through, remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Remove the kale stems and add the kale to the skillet and cook in the remaining fat from the sausage. When fully cooked down, remove from skillet and set aside.
- When the acorn squash finishes baking, scoop out the insides and add to a food processor. Add the cinnamon, onion powder, salt, fennel, and 1 Tbsp of fresh sage. Process until well combined and the squash is a smooth texture.
- Combine the smooth squash mixture, kale, and sausage in a 9x13 baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350°.
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