Sausage Squash Bowls

Simple, Clean & Comforting Sausagey Squash Yumminess -- Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Friendly!

Yummy, warm, clean, and comforting bowl meals have become my favorite in this wintry season.

I came across this Sausage Stuffed Squash recipe by Julia’s Album. It was delicious! I stuffed it once to make it look all pretty like hers, but I quickly determined, that’s really not my way.

Instead, I need to make meals ahead and in bulk typically to have meals ready for the week or to have in the freezer. Bowl meals where I mix it up or layer main ingredients together work much better for me.

So, this adapted recipe below works wonderfully because it’s just right for prepping ahead for container meals or even freezing, and it’s improved to be cleaner and autoimmune protocol friendly as well!

A note on winter squash: you can really use your favorite of many varieties of squash. I’ve used acorn, butternut (my favorite), and spaghetti squash all roasted in the oven and simply scooped out to use as the base of this bowl.

Here’s the recipe (should make 3-4 large sized bowl meals depending on portion size):

Ingredients:

For Squash

• Olive Oil

• 1 large Winter Squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti, etc)

• Sea Salt

For Sausage Hash

• Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

• 1 lb. Ground Meat (Burger, Turkey or Pork)

• 1 Small Onion, diced

• 2-3 Garlic Cloves Minced or ½ tsp Garlic Powder

• 1 tsp Dried Sage

• ½ tsp Dried Rosemary

• ½ tsp Dried Thyme

• ½ tsp Ground Ginger

• ¾ tsp Pink Himalayan Salt

• ¼ Ground Cinnamon

• 8 oz Spinach

• ½ to 1 cup Cranberries (fresh if AIP, dried is ok)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Rub the insides with olive oil and place with the skin side facing up. Sprinkle with sea salt. Use a parchment sheet under the squash for easy clean-up. Roast for 30-40 minutes.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the diced onion and cook for a couple minutes on medium heat.

4. Crumble the meat in the skillet and add the minced garlic cloves. Cook thoroughly. Drain any remaining liquid. Then season the cooked meat with all of the spices.

5. Add the fresh spinach and cranberries and cook for several minutes until the spinach is wilted and berries soften.

6. Scoop the squash out of the skin and portion into bowls/containers with 1 to 2 cups per bowl. Add a scoop or two of the sausage hash on top of the squash and enjoy!

So simple and delicious! Here's my first attempt making the dish look prettier. It really works either way you want, but the prepped bowls just fit my lifestyle better.