Stuffed Acorn Squash

It's that time of year...time to put away the hot dogs, brats, and corn on the cobb, and start working on reducing the abundance of squashes and gourds that we all grew so enthusiastically this summer. These Acorn Squash are from Uncle Shaan's garden. Just the perfect size for individual portions, they invite you to stuff and bake them! Although, we usually eat them sweet, with cinnamon and marshmallows, tonight I decided to take a savory approach. Delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
4 small acorn squash
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 package Jimmy Dean All Natural Pork Sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrot
Several handfuls of fresh baby spinach, chopped kale or swiss chard.
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked rice of any sort (I like to use a package of Rice-a-Roni Nature's Way Long Grain and Wild Rice)
Generous pinch kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Swiss cheese, for topping

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. If necessary in order for the squash to sit level, cut off a small portion of the bottom. Put 1 of the 8 pieces of butter in the cavity of each squash. Set squash on a sheet pan lined with tin foil. Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown the ground pork until no longer pink. Remove the meat from the pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion, celery, and carrot, and greens until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine or stock.

Return the pork to the pan along with the cooked rice. Salt and pepper, to taste. Stirring constantly, heat mixture thoroughly, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Divide the mixture evenly among the squash, top each squash with cheese. Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 hour, or until the squash is tender. Remove tin foil for last 15 mintues. Serve immediately.