Dinner- Sausage Winter Squash Casserole

After many days of rainy cold weather and a brave trip to the farmer's market I have managed to cook and now blog! I had sausage leftover from pizza night with Finn and Joanne on Friday and in an attempt to use the sausage in a non-Italian way (mostly to make Robby happy because I could eat Italian everyday) I made this great recipe. It is from the first ever Cook Book Club book The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook.

The recipe was easy to follow, a variation on their Winter Squash Casserole recipe made to be a main dish. The squash can be a little intimidating but a $1 a squash from the farmer's market it is worth the guts it takes to peel. I put it in the boiling water for about 10 mins then peeled and sliced it into the casserole. There are plenty of leftovers so we will be enjoying this next week.

3.5 pounds winter squash, such as butternut, kabocha, or acorn
1 pound hot Italian sausage
5 tbls unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 tbls extra virgin-olive oil
2 large yellow onions chopped
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
2.5 tsp minced fresh thyme
1/5 cup bread crumbs. preferably homemade, toasted
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or pecans, toasted
2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a baking dish or 4-quart casserole.

Place 3 quarts water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add the squash to the water, return to a boil cook for 6 mins. Drain set aside and peel and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Cut Sausage on a bias into 1/2 inch pieces and cook until brown in a saute pan.

Melt the butter in the stockpot and add the oil. Add the onions and saute over medium-low heat until translucent about 8 mins. Add the warm squash and buttermilk, eggs, sausage, thyme, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds, and 1 1/3 cups cheese. Blend with a wooden spoon or spatula until ingredients are well combined.

Spread mixture evenly in the baking dish. Bake for 45 mins. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds and 2/3 cup cheese over the casserole. bake for 15 more minutes, or until the pumpkin seeds turned brown and the cheese is bubbling and gently browning.