Acorn Squash Stuffed with Grains & Chicken Sausage

Last Week I wanted to introduce Gimpy to one of my favorite Fall vegetables - acorn squash.  I started with one acorn squash, cut in half, with the inside (seeds, strings) scraped out and baked in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes.  When you put it in the oven, bake it with the cut size up.

In the meantime, I put 1 3/4 cup chicken stock in a sauce pan with 1 1/4 cup of mixed grains - wild rice, quinoa, and couscous.  Bring that to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until tender.  On another burner, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, and chop up 2 jalapeno mango chicken sausages and sauté.

Steam a cup of peas, and then mix the grains, sausage, and peas together.  Place them in the acorn squash and serve!  You can either have them just fill the cavity...

Or you could have it overflowing the edges and cascading down!  Gimpy loved it :) 

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Friday night Gimpy and I decided to stay in.  I did a crazy 2 hour Zumba class with the girls, and arrived home sweaty, exhausted, and ready to pass out from hunger.  Gimpy had been sick, and we had my nephew's 3rd birthday very early the next morning, so it seemed like a good idea.

I had gotten some delicious frozen butternut squash ravioli, and made sage brown butter sauce.

Sage Brown Butter Sauce
4 Tbsp Butter
8 Fresh Sage Leaves

Heat the butter over medium heat until it begins to brown.  When it begins to turn brown, about 8 minutes, I added 8 sage leaves and continued to cook for 2 more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli until tender poofs.  The important thing to remember when cooking ravioli is to bring the water to a rolling boil, but then turn the heat down and cook them when the water is medium heat.  Also, salt the water liberally.  This is the only time you can flavor the pasta!

Pull the sage leaves out of the butter sauce and pour it on top of the ravioli.  Top with parmesan cheese and garnish with fresh sage leaves.