Nicole's Super Skinny Stuffed Squash!

So, if you've been reading my blog at all, you know I spend a LARGE percentage of my life trying out NEW, FUN, AND SOMETIMES CRAZY healthy recipes!   

IT HAS BECOME AN OBSESSION!!!  

Dinner time at our house can be pretty interesting (that's an understatement) as my family sits down to my newest freaky cooking science experiment!!!! :)   (I'm pretty sure my husband Dan has insured himself a spot in heaven for being such a good sport, and eating everything I cook!)

My Ultimate goal in all this craziness is to make a healthy meal, that my family loves, asks for seconds of, and doesn't even realize it's healthy!

Those are the recipes I try and post here on my website and put in my cookbooks!!! So, try them out!  They've already been tested by my 9-year-old son Andon, and believe me, he's not afraid to hurt my feelings and tell me what he REALLY thinks of my meals! LOL!   

If there here, HE LIKED THEM! :)

In my constant search for the ULTIMATE HEALTHY YUMMY MEALS,  I LOVE getting new recipes ideas from friends!  Everyone is so creative!  

The recipe below was given to me by one of my VERY FIT (seriously, you should see this girls ARMS!!!!   RIPPPPPPED!!!!!)  Friend Nicole Ehrman!   She's given me many amazing healthy recipes and they have ALL been a HIT with my family!

Nicole's got a full time job and manages to eat healthy, and get her workouts in every morning at 5 am!!! (When your workout starts at 5 am that means you actually have to get up BEFORE 5 am!!!!   EARLY MORNINGS!!! AGHHHHHH!)  She's also been known to sneak another workout in AFTER work! :)  

So for all you people with your lame excuses about no time, etc etc!!!!!   Zip it!  Try this great meal tonight for dinner, courtesy of Nicole!....  and get that workout in. :)   

Super skinny Stuffed Squash

Ingredients:

4 small acorn squash, 1 - 1 1/4 lbs each

1 lb chicken sausage

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. chopped celery

1/4 c. chopped carrot

1/2 c. white wine

1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice (or quinoa)

1-10 oz package frozen spinach, completely thawed, drained & chopped

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Generous pinch kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut each acorn squash in half (from top to bottom) and scoop out the seeds. In order for each half to lay flat, you may need to cut off a small portion of the rounded side. Set squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and lightly salt the insides of the squash. Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown the chicken sausage until no longer pink.  Remove the meat from the pan and drain if necessary.  Add the olive oil and saute the onion, celery and carrot until they begin to soften, appx. 7-10 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine.

Return the sausage to the pan along with the cooked brown rice (or quinoa), spinach, oregano and salt and pepper, to taste.  Stirring constantly, heat mixture thoroughly, appx 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Divide the mixture evenly among the squash.  Bake for 1 hour or until the squash it tender.  

This is a great fall recipe and the flavors of the squash and sausage combination is fantastic.  

-Nicole