Roasted Squash Stuffed with Corn Bread Dressing

You can make the Maple Corn Bread and toast it ahead. Roast the squash and refrigerate it up to 2 days. All you'll have to do on Thanksgiving day is assemble the dish and bake it.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed squash half)

Ingredients

• 7 1/2  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed Maple Corn Bread
• Cooking spray
• 5  acorn squash (about 1 pound each)
• 4  cups  boiling water, divided
• 1  cup  dried cranberries
• 1/4  cup  dried currants
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  cup  finely chopped onion
• 1  cup  finely chopped celery
• 1  cup  finely chopped carrot
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh sage
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup  vegetable broth
• 1/4  cup  chopped pecans, toasted
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped fresh parsley
• 3/4  teaspoon  fine sea salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange corn bread cubes in a single layer on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until corn bread is toasted, stirring twice. Set aside.

Decrease oven temperature to 350°.

Cut each squash in half lengthwise, and discard the seeds and membranes. Place the squash, cut sides down, in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Coat the squash with cooking spray. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over squash. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove the squash from pan.

Place cranberries, currants, and 2 cups boiling water in a bowl. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes. Add celery, carrot, sage, and garlic; saute 3 minutes.

Combine toasted corn bread cubes, cranberry mixture, onion mixture, broth, and remaining ingredients in a bowl, tossing to coat.

Spoon about 1 1/2 cups dressing mixture into each squash half. Place the squash halves in pan, cut sides up.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the tip of a knife pierces squash easily.

Totals include Maple Corn Bread.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

398 (23% from fat)

Fat:

10.2g (sat 4.1g,mono 3.8g,poly 1.6g)

Protein:

6.5g

Carbohydrate:

74.2g

Fiber:

7.7g

Cholesterol:

16mg

Iron:

3.8mg

Sodium:

732mg

Calcium:

198mg