Stuffed Butternut Squash with Chicken Meatballs, Barley and Sage

The first thing to do is preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F).

Next using a large sharp knife, cut the butternut squashes in half, lengthwise. Place them on a baking sheet face up and let them bake undisturbed for about 30 minutes. Don’t worry about removing the seeds, they come up easier after the squash is baked. After 30 minutes, pull them from the oven and remove the seeds with a spoon. With a small paring knife, cut a rim around the squash leaving about 1/2 ” of a squash rim. The idea is to remove the squash in rustic cubes. You’ll want to keep the shell intact because we’ll be stuffing it later and baking.

Next, it’s time to cook the barley. In a small pot, add 3 cups chicken stock and the barley. Let it come to a boil, then turn down the heat and allow the barley to cook for about 45 minutes on a low simmer. Please note, I did not use the instant barley.

While the barley is cooking, begin making the chicken meatballs. I discovered recently that using a food processor is a great way to grind up meat. I personally love the idea of knowing exactly what is going into my ground products. No mystery meat here! I added the whole chicken breasts to the food processor. Next roughly chop up the garlic, rosemary, thyme and about 3 tablespoons of the fresh sage and add that to the processor. Also add 1 tablespoon of rubbed sage or poultry seasoning and salt. Then add the mayonnaise. I know that sounds really weird right? But you’ll have to trust me on this. If you don’t add it to the mixture, the meatballs will turn out really dry since we’re using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Turn the food processor on and let it run until you have a smooth consistency. Remove the lid and add the egg and bread crumbs. Let the food processor run until all of the ingredients are blended well.

Now we’re ready to form the meatballs. Make them on the small side – I think they work best in this dish. Then place them on a baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

While the meatballs are baking, begin sautéing the onion in a deep skillet adding the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 1 tablespoons of rubbed sage and the grated nutmeg. When it’s done, drain the barley well and add to the pot with the onions. Next goes the chunks of butternut squash, the chicken meatballs, remaining sage (reserve about 1 tablespoon of the fresh sage to garnish at the end) and 1 cup of chicken stock and season with salt to your taste. Remember that the chicken stock has salt in it so go easy on the salt.

Ok we’re almost done! Remember the shells of the butternut squash we reserved? Ok, now it’s time to put this mixture back into the shells. Top each butternut squash with a little shredded Parmesan cheese and bake in the oven just for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Garnish with the remaining roughly chopped fresh sage.