Stuffed and Baked Acorn Squash

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Slice the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash cut side down on a baking dish and fill with ¼ inch of hot water. Cover dish loosely with foil and bake for about 45 minutes. The squash should be tender when poked with a fork.

Cook rice according to package directions (I cook my rice with butter and highly recommend that for this recipe!).

Heat a pan over medium heat with olive oil. Take sausage out of casing and put into pan, break up into little pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.

Clean and roughy chop Swiss chard (into about 1-inch strips or pieces). Add to pan and cook until Swiss chard is starting to wilt a bit. Add cooked rice, cider, pine nuts, and seasoning. Allow the dish to simmer until cider is absorbed into filling. Just before stuffing your squash, stir in cheese until it is melted.

When squash are roasted, remove from oven and drain water from baking dish. Turn squash up so the open side is facing up. Fill squash with your stuffing (don’t be shy here, you can pile things up pretty high!). Re-cover the pan with foil and bake for another 15 minutes.