Lunch: Twice Baked Butternut Squash

You can also make this same recipe with small sugar pumpkins or acorn squash instead of butternut squash.

Ingredients

1 (2-pound) butternut squash
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 links apple chicken sausage, diced
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
½ cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup nonfat ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Halve the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and spray with cooking spray. Season the squash with salt (optional), pepper, and fresh nutmeg. Lay the squash cut side up on the baking sheet and roast until just tender, about 35 minutes. Remove the squash from the oven and set aside.
While the squash is roasting, add the olive oil to a medium non-stick sauté pan and sauté the sausage and sage until golden brown.
Scoop the flesh of the squash into a bowl keeping the skins intact. Mash the squash flesh with the chicken stock and the ricotta cheese and then stir in the cooked sausage and sage.
Stuff the squash shells with the mashed squash mixture, top with the parmesan cheese, and bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown on top.
Cut each squash half in half again before serving.