Savory and Satisfying Stuffed Acorn Squash

The perfect holiday meal, served in an edible bowl!

• 3 acorn squashes, sliced in half length-wise and seeded (save the seeds to roast later)
• 1 10 oz. package vegan stuffing mix (Whole Foods makes a good one)
• 3 Field Roast Smoked Apple-Sage Sausages, diced
• 4 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced green apple
• 1/4 chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter or vegetable broth or water

Preheat oven to 375. Place squashes cut-side down into 2 casserole dishes. Fill pans with vegetable broth, up to 1/2 inch. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. (This step can be done a day ahead. Refrigerate any remaining broth and squashes.)

Once the squashes are done roasting, carefully remove them from the casserole dishes with tongs, and pour any remaining broth into a glass measuring cup. Fill cup with more broth or water until you have 2 cups total. Heat the broth or water over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, saute onion and celery in vegan butter or a little broth or water in a sauce pan, over medium heat, for 5 minutes. Add apples and saute 5 minutes more.

By now, the broth or water should be at a boil. Turn off both pots and pour the hot broth or water into the pot with the vegetable and apple mixture. Quickly stir in the parsley, diced sausages and stuffing mix.Cover the pot with a lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. Remove lid and fluff stuffing with a fork.

Lightly oil the bottom of the casserole dishes and put squashes back in pan, cut-side up. Fill each cavity with stuffing and cover with foil. Bake for about 30 minutes, then remove foil. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, until the top of the stuffing is a little crispy.

Serves 6

*For a hearty one-dish Thanksgiving casserole, omit squashes and use 4 sausages total.  Bake stuffing in a greased casserole dish, covered, for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes, or until crispy on top.

Alyssa Boyle aka "The Cavewoman," is the owner of Cavewoman Bars and enjoys gathering fruits and veggies and turning them into mouth-watering creations with as little processing as possible. She took this photo of her dinner in her house. You can find her at www.cavewomanbars.com and on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up for her Newsletter and be the first to receive the latest information, along with valuable coupons.