Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash - total time 40 minutes

The fun thing about eating more seasonally (besides eating foods when they're in their absolute prime and tastiness) is that you have something to look forward to every season which keeps your meal plans fresh too.  Now that we're halfway into fall, I have a counter full of squash begging to be roasted!  There are so many to choose from, they come in all shapes and flavors.  You might already have a few butternut recipes, but here's a new acorn squash recipe to add to your fall meal planning arsenal.

This is the perfect comfort food when the temperatures start to dip.  Sausage has that smokey flavor that pairs just right with acorn squash.  The addition of sage just completes the fall flavors.  Baking the sausage in the squash is super cute presentation that is great for a dinner party or a fancy Thanksgiving.  It's also pretty easy!  :)

Weekly Menu

Thanksgiving weekend is officially over.  So is November.  Can't believe it will be December in a few hours... my Facebook newsfeed is filled with pictures of Christmas trees already!

So before we move on to Christmas, just a moment to recap Thanksgiving.  We had several of them, with the last one ending just a few hours ago at our house.  The house is filled with aromas of roasted turkey, butternut squash, and sage!  Mmm  :)  So full though!  We passed on a couple classics, but had a traditional roasted turkey, crispy roast potatoes, butternut leek soup, brussel sprout gratin, and caesar salad.  I couldn't decide on a dessert to make, so I got some cookies from our neighborhood bakery and some Jeni's ice cream... I think everyone was satisfied.  ;)

Now we have tons of leftover turkey to move through and turkey stock simmering on the stovetop.  So this week's menu has a couple leftover recipes and some beef/lamb recipes that rarely make the list just to change things up enough from the back-to-back turkey nights.

turkey, apple, and cheddar paninis
thanksgiving enchiladas
thanksgiving loaded nachos
steak tacos
lamb kabobs

Seems like tex mex has a takeover on the menu this week, but it is just too easy to turn leftovers into non-traditional tacos!  Some kind of soup will make it on to the menu next week to utilize this yummy smelling turkey stock.

Planning for Thanksgiving

It's time for the biggest cooking day of the year!  When experienced and novice chefs alike plan out a menu, buy tons of food, work hard in the kitchen, and serve up something delicious for their friends and family.  

Of course it is also time to give thanks, and not just for the feast and family in front of you.  Too many families are in need, especially this time of year.  And that is why Whence is partnering up with Godman Guild to provide Thanksgiving meals to families here in Columbus.  Please consider donating through the Whence app this week to help others have a healthy, happy Thanksgiving!

Since we are all planning for Thanksgiving, and our Bowman Landes turkey will be delivered by Green Bean Delivery, which means I need to start planning space in my refrigerator!  So here is a list of some Thanksgiving must-have (and a few unique) recipes to have on your Thanksgiving table...

Turkey
cranberry-orange glazed turkey
stuffed turkey tenderloin
turkey cheddar apple panini

Sides
crispy roast potatoes
butternut leek soup
brussel sprout gratin
stuffing muffins
butternut mac and cheese

Desserts
caramel apple struesel
mini pumpkin pies
baileys brownies
apple pie chips

Here's to a fun day of cooking!