Turkey stuffed acorn squash
Roasted acorn squash halves filled with sage-scented turkey, apple and cranberries under a little parmesan, like autumn in a bowl you can eat.
- 65 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.88 a serving
- 430 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 acorn squash
- 1 lb ground turkey
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 apple, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup pecans, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried thyme
Each serving has about 430 calories, 26 g protein, 46 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $2.88 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F. Cut the squash in half through the stem and scoop out the seeds.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Dolly’s tip: If it’s too hard to cut, microwave it whole for 2 minutes first. Keep your fingers well clear of the blade.Brush the cut sides with 1 tablespoon of the oil, with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper, and cut side down on a 30 to 35 minutes, until a fork slides in easily.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Timer: 32 min
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large over medium-high. Add the turkey, onion and celery and cook 7 minutes, breaking up the turkey, until no pink remains.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Ground turkey is lean and sticks more than beef. Let it sit 2 minutes before you break it up so it browns instead of steaming.Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Add the apple, garlic, sage, thyme and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and cook 3 minutes, until the apple a little. in the cranberries.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Flip the squash halves over, pile in the filling, and scatter on the parmesan and pecans.
10 minutes more, until the cheese and the edges are .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
