Apple And Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs butternut squash
1 (20 ounce) package Italian turkey sausage
3 small granny smith apples
1/2 lemon
1 large yellow onion
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons butter

Preparation

Slice open the squash, seed, then rub flesh with olive oil. Cover and bake at 375* for 30-40 min until tender. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle. Don't turn off the oven.
Meanwhile, dice the apple into 1/2 cubes and set aside in a bowl. Stir in juice of 1/2 lemon to prevent browning. Dice onion into 1/2 in pieces and add to the apple.
Heat a skillet over medium heat, then crumble in the sausage. Saute until no longer pink, and some spots are crisping up. Without draining off the fat, add in the apple and onion mixture. Season with salt, pepper, sage and red pepper flakes. Cook stirring for several minutes until crisp tender. Remove from heat and return sausage mixture to bowl.
Remove squash in big chunks, leaving 1/2 of flesh in shell. Stir squash, 2 T butter and honey into sausage mixture, then pile mixture back into squash halves. Dot squash with remaining T butter, then return to oven. Bake uncovered until piping hot and crisp on top, about 20-25 minutes.