Meat Lite: Butternut Squash and Sausage Bake

Name: Meat Lite: Butternut Squash and Sausage Bake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 Tbsps melted butter, optional, plus a little extra to prepare baking dish; 1 liters small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1/2 cubes, (about seeds and scrapings reserved; 177 milliliters chicken stock; 2 teaspoons dried sage; 59 milliliters flour; 113 grams Italian sausage; 59 milliliters olive oil, divided; 3 onions, quartered and sliced; 6 servings salt and pepper; 118 milliliters shredded smoked mozzarella; 5 thyme sprigs; 3 slices white sandwich bread, cut into cubes

You can never have too many side dish recipes, so give Meat Lite: Butternut Squash and Sausage Bake a try. One portion of this dish contains roughly 9g of protein, 22g of fat, and a total of 355 calories. This recipe serves 6. A mixture of olive oil, sausage, salt and pepper, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so delicious. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 45 minutes.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-by-12 inch baking dish.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Oven

Remove sausage from its casing and cook in a large skillet over medium heat until just browning, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Ingredients you will need

Sausage

Equipment you will use

Wooden Spoon

Frying Pan

Remove cooked sausage and refrigerate until ready to use.

Ingredients you will need

Sausage

Add enough olive oil to the rendered fat in the skillet to equal two tablespoons, and then add the onions, thyme and sage. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen brown bits. When onions are thoroughly soft, remove and set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Salt And Pepper

Olive Oil

Onion

Thyme

Sage

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

While the onions cook, simmer the squash seeds and scrapings in the chicken stock for 10 minutes, strain and keep the stock warm over low heat.

Ingredients you will need

Stock

Onion

Squash

Seeds

Add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Toss the squash with the flour and arrange in a single layer in the skillet. (If the skillet isn't big enough, you'll need to do this in two batches.)

Ingredients you will need

Olive Oil

Squash

All Purpose Flour

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Let the squash brown, undisturbed, for 4 minutes then stir the squash as it cooks for the next 4 minutes. Season liberally with salt and pepper and set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Salt And Pepper

Squash

To assemble the casserole, layer the onions in the buttered baking dish. Dot the onions with the sausage bits evenly, and then top with the squash.

Ingredients you will need

Sausage

Onion

Squash

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Sprinkle the smoked mozzarella over the top, and the pour the stock into the baking dish. Press the top of the casserole with a spatula to evenly distribute the liquid. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Mozzarella

Stock

Equipment you will use

Aluminum Foil

Baking Pan

Oven

Spatula

While the casserole bakes, pulse the bread crumbs with the melted butter (if using) in a food processor until you have coarse bread crumbs.

Ingredients you will need

Breadcrumbs

Butter

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

After 30 minutes, pull the baking dish out of the oven, remove the foil, top casserole evenly with breadcrumbs and bake uncovered an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the top is nicely browned.

Ingredients you will need

Breadcrumbs

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Oven

Aluminum Foil