Recipe: Sausage Stuffing

This is a recipe I cobbled together back when I was low-carb. While I'm certain I used a number of recipes as inspiration, as I always do, I always seem to throw specific recipes out the window in favor of making my own, and I so rarely measure unless proportions matter. Much of the time, this results in having no idea what I did or being completely unable to recreate the genius. This is not one of those times!

What you need:

• 2 lbs bulk sausage of choice: I like a good sage sausage, or a breakfast sausage, but even a spicy hot version has some appeal. 
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 large yellow onion
• Fresh, hearty herbs: Sage, rosemary, thyme, stuff like that. Avoid softer herbs like basil & oregano, even parsley I think doesn't hold up. 
• 1 butternut squash
• 1-2 apples
• a handful of nuts: walnuts, almonds, mixed nuts, hazelnuts, all good. 
• seasonings to taste

What to Do:

1. Peel the butternut squash and dice it (1/2 inch cubes). You can rinse the strings off the seeds & throw them in as nuts if you want. 
2. Dice the onion, and slice the celery. Core the apple, and dice.
3. Sauté the onion, celery & sausage together. 
4. Mix the onion, celery, sausage, squash (yes, uncooked), apples, nuts, and herbs in a large mixing bowl. Toss in some seasonings; salt, pepper, garlic, anything else that sounds good. Pour the mix into a casserole dish and cover with foil or lid. 
5. Bake in oven until squash is cooked. Times & temps vary. I'd say 350 F for 45 minutes is about right, but if you're putting it in with other things that need different temperatures, it's pretty forgiving. The biggest thing is cooking the squash & in the process you're steaming the nuts so they're sort of soft. 
6. Serve as a side dish at a Thanksgiving meal, or even as a main & veg next to a starch. Maybe add some rice & call it pilaf. 

Filed under: [low carb, gluten free, paleo?, no added sugar, meat, squash, nuts, fall flavors, holiday meals]