Stuffed Butternut Squash

Our family loves this dish. I found the original recipe in "Mennonite Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley."
I will include the original as well as my adaptations. One thing I have found is that because you have to bake the squash then stuff it and bake it again, I have to plan well ahead. I often bake the squash in the morning or around lunch time and even make the filling, refrigerate, then stuff and bake them for dinner. Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Stuffed Butternut Squash
Makes 6 large servings

3 small to medium-sized butternut squash
1/2 to 3/4 pound ground sausage (browned and drained)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 & 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs (not the prepackaged kind)
1/4 cup butter, softened (I use a scant 1/4 cup Wildtree Butter Flavored Grapeseed Oil)
3 Tablespoons chopped green peppers
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp black pepper (I use a dash of Wildtree Rancher's Steak Rub in place of the salt and pepper)

Method: Split squash. Remove and discard seeds.

Place squash cut side down in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-90 minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, scoop out pulp, leaving shell 1/4 inch thick.

Mash pulp and mix with remaining ingredients. Pile lightly back into shells and bake again at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Healthy-ish Breakfast Casserole

Even your pickiest eater will love! I wish all my "experiments" turned out so fabulous! I took our standby breakfast casserole and transformed it into something I would serve to royalty. (If royals are so inclined to eat such things as casseroles.) I really had NO idea whether this was going to work or not when I started and when I tested it on my husband, he had not even realized I had made some major changes. Other variations at the end.

Fresh from the oven

Instead of cubed bread, I peeled and chopped up 1 medium-sized eggplant. I also incorporated fresh vegetables and herbs.

Ingredients:
1 medium to large eggplant, peeled and chopped into small pieces. Place into a 9X13 pan.
1 pound ground sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
7 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 handful fresh spinach
several sprigs of fresh parsley
1 medium onion
a few splashes of Wildtree's Smoky Chipotle Hot Sauce or hot sauce of your choice
1 teaspoon Wildtree's Rancher Steak Rub OR salt and pepper to taste

I did add 2 slices of my homemade "Rustic Cracked Wheat Bread" because I wasn't sure how absorbent the eggplant would be. (The original recipe calls for 6 slices cubed bread.)

1 pound ground sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled (We butcher our own so it is very low fat.)
Place on top of cubed eggplant

 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle on top of sausage

In a medium bowl, mix together veggies and herbs of choice with eggs and milk and pour over everything. Sprinkle top with Wildtree's California Style Garlic and Pepper Blend.

If you don't have one of these awesome handy dandy Tupperware Food Choppers, you should definitely talk to my friend, Marcie! This is one of my MUST haves!

This is the egg and herb mixture to pour over the casserole

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until eggs are set. You can prepare this in the evening and bake the next morning so it is great for company, or you can bake immediately.

If you have a REALLY picky eater, put the eggs, veggies and herbs into the blender. Voila`. They will never know. I do that with smoothies all the time. My kids drink fresh spinach in their yogurt and fruit smoothies and think it is the best ever. A lot of times I throw a little fresh mint in the smoothies too, so if they see a fleck of green and ask what it is, I tell them it must be that yummy mint leaf.

This casserole really was INCREDIBLE! And I looked up some nutrition info.

For one cup of chopped cooked eggplant, you are looking at 33 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 g cholesterol, 237 milligrams sodium, 8 g carbs, 2 g dietary fiber, 3 g sugar, 1 g protein. Info from Self Nutrition Data.

1 slice of wheat bread (if you use 6 sliced cubed as in the original recipe) is 60 calories, 0 cholesterol, 100 milligram sodium, 12 g carbs, 1 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar and 2.5 g protein. Info from Live Strong.

VARIATIONS: We also love this casserole with fresh diced tomatoes tossed in with the bread cubes or eggplant and then Wildtree's Fiesta Salsa Mix in with the egg mixture. We also like jalapenos and other hot peppers one on end on top for mommy and daddy.