Midweek Magic: Roasted Acorn Squash with Sausage Stuffing

As I am sure you all are starting to feel, we are entering that time of year when everything seems to speed up and pile up. The holiday season is swiftly approaching and with it can come a fair bit of anxiety and stress from all we have on our plates. Now more so than ever it is important to find the time to nourish ourselves well; physically, mentally, and emotionally. One of most satisfying ways to refocus and re-energize for this upcoming season is to take advantage of the beautiful bounty of fall produce available to create a delicious meal.

Recharge, Refocus, and Reunite

This week’s recipe offers a simply roasted acorn squash with a deliciously savory chicken sausage stuffing that is infused with a touch of sweetness from apple cider and dried cranberries. Our aim with this dish was to charge it intentionally with the resiliency and energy boost that is necessary to get us all through this busy time of the year with sanity intact!

Below are some of the key ingredients and the intentions they bring to the table for us.

Acorn Squash: Even though we most commonly see this squash go by the moniker acorn due to it’s similarity in shape, you can also find it go by several different names such as the Des Moines and pepper squash. While this ancient varietal of squash is considered a winter squash, it is actually the same species as summer squashes such zucchini and pattypan. Much like other hearty winter vegetables, acorn squash holds intention towards resilience, prosperity, and abundance in all forms.

Chicken Sausage: Having seen a significant growth in popularity in the past decade, chicken sausage is a delicious, versatile and slightly healthier alternative to your traditional pork or beef varieties. I personally enjoy using these products because of the vast variety of different flavors that offer me lots of creative choices when it comes to creating new recipes or reinventing classic ones. In this recipe, I am specifically riffing on the stuffing recipe my grandmother used to cook during the holidays and reliving the feeling of being in her cozy kitchen surrounded by love. Here, my substitution of the chicken sausage is lending its energy to mimicking this comforting time and assisting with deep emotional healing.

Bread: Perhaps the most important component of a stuffing is the bread that helps bind the other ingredients together. We previously dipped our toes into the magical associations of bread and bread-making in our Lughnasadh post (Rich Sun-Dried Tomato, Shallot, and Herb Focaccia), however a point we did not discuss in that post was the gathering of community in relation to bread-making and eating. For as long as humanity has been around, the act of sharing a meal has been a bonding activity. Bread and the grain it is made from has long been a staple offering signifying peace, unity, health and abundance at many a gathering and this intention continues even in our busy modern lives.

Apple Cider: Since I happen to live in New England, I am still very much enjoying the fall bounty of fresh local apple cider and finding fun new ways to use it in my cooking and baking. In this recipe, I chose to use it as my main source of liquid in the stuffing as it adds a deep, slightly sweet richness to the entire dish. Being that apple cider is unfiltered and unsweetened, it holds the same energy as a fresh raw apple; intentionally we are using it in this dish to aid us in seeking and appreciating the beauty of life in all aspects.

Cranberries: Another fall time New England staple are cranberries, which we start seeing pop up fresh in the produce aisle of stores around this time of year. Cranberries are a relative of blueberries and huckleberries, but unlike their cousins, are well known for being quite sour and bitter (always one in the family, right?). While I personally enjoy the tart flavor of a fresh cranberry, for this recipe I wanted to have a sweeter counterpoint to the savory nature of the stuffing, so I chose to use dried, sweetened cranberries. These are not only easy to find in the supermarket year round, but they are also relatively inexpensive and versatile, being able to be used in a variety of cooking and baking recipes. Magickally, I chose to use them to imbue this meal with an energy boost to aid in pushing through some of those more challenging times that might arise in the next couple of months, as well as helping us protect our emotional selves.

The Recipe

I found that this roasted squash is absolutely lovely served as a quick weeknight meal with a side of steamed veggies or a salad. It can also be made as a hearty side dish for all types of poultry, pork chops or tenderloin, roasted beef, or even fish such as salmon, cod, or halibut.

That being said, this dish would also be a wonderful twist on classic offerings to share at your upcoming holiday dinner events, especially at gatherings where you might need an extra boost to positive energy, emotional strength, or peaceful relations.

What types of holiday recipes would you like to see from us this season? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments!

Want more? Come follow us on TikTok @thespellboundhearth where you can get more of our witchy content and recipes!

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Author: Elizabeth Johnson

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Roasted Acorn Squash With Sausage Stuffing

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

This hearty and comforting dish features nutty and slightly earthy acorn squash that's paired with a savory chicken sausage stuffing which gains a little touch of sweetness and an intentional boost from apple cider and dried cranberries.

Ingredients

• 2 medium acorn squash (prosperity, resiliency)
• 1 small onion, diced (protection, banishment of negativity)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (mental and psychic acuity)
• 3 chicken sausage links, casings removed *see note (inner/emotional healing)
• 1 to 1/2 cups small cubed bread of your choosing *see note (abundance, unity)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (increasing energy, protecting emotions)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup apple cider (seeing the beauty and sweetness in life)
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning (wisdom, protection, joy, clarity)
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (cleansing, success, power)
• salt, to taste (purification, protection)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil (peace)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Using a heavy chef knife, carefully cut the tops off of the squash close to the stems and then cut the squash in half length-wise. Remove the seeds and stringy parts and discard or keep the seeds and dry them for eating at a later time.
3. Place the prepared squash onto a lined or greased baking sheet and drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over each, using your hands or a pastry brush to evenly distribute the oil on all of the flesh, including the cavity of the squash. Season the squash evenly with salt.
4. Place the prepared squash in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until just starting to become softened. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. Into a sauté pan, place the diced onion and celery along with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Stir and sauté over medium low until the vegetables just begin to become translucent. Remove from pan and keep aside in a separate bowl for later.
6. Adjust the burner to medium high and add another 1-2 Tbsp olive oil to the pan to sear the sausage. Stir and fry until fully cooked and crumbed into bite size pieces.
7. Lower the burner back to low and add your vegetables back in, as well as the cubed bread, cranberries, salt and poultry seasoning. Stir to combine the ingredients well.
8. Begin adding the apple cider slowly to the mixture and stir until the mixture forms a cohesive texture, not dry or soupy. Remove from heat and add in the fresh parsley and stir to combine once more.
9. To stuff the acorn squash, take a spoon and gently fill the cavity of the squash with a generous amount of stuffing, covering most of the top of the squash as well.
10. Once all of the squash is filled, loosely cover the sheet pan with foil and place it back into the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes. After the time elapses, remove the foil and bake for another 5-8 minutes to crisp the topping slightly.
11. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. This can be served as a hearty side dish with roasted pork or poultry or as a meal within itself alongside roasted or steamed vegetables or a lovely salad. Enjoy!

Notes

• I personally used an already cubed packaged bread meant for stuffing, however you can you use any bread that you have on hand that you enjoy or even small salad croutons.

• If you would like to make this dish gluten friendly, you can absolutely use gluten free bread or croutons of your choosing.

• You may substitute the chicken sausage in this recipe for a meatless option. We recommend the Field Roast or Beyond brands, however you may use any that you prefer.