Chris's Week Thirty-Eight Recipe: Squash-Bacon Medley

I'm still working my way through my cookbooks to see if I can get a recipe out of each of them by the end of the year (or if they'll be heading to the library book sale!). This week's recipe has its origins in Pumpkin, a Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year by DeeDee Stovel. The original recipe, which I'm certainly going to try sometime, is Pumpkin-Turkey Medley. I decided to substitute squash and bacon since that's what I had on hand.

This hotdish definitely takes a little prep. Yesterday I cooked the bacon, roasted the squash, and cut up some old bread for croutons so I could bake the casserole today.

Squash-Bacon Medley

1 large acorn squash, roasted and mashed (2 cups)

2 c croutons (you can cut up old bread and let it sit out overnight)

1 T butter

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 t rubbed sage

1 t poultry seasoning

1/2 t salt

freshly-ground black pepper

1 c vegetable broth

8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

1/2 c grated sharp Cheddar

Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the onions until tender and slightly brown. Stir in the seasonings and croutons and cook for about a minute. Add the vegetable broth, squash and bacon, stir and scoop into a greased 2 quart baking dish. Bake for 20 min at 350F. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese on top and bake for another 5-10 min until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly.

Would I make this recipe again? Oh yes! And I want to try this with turkey, too. The original recipe calls for 2-3 cups cubed, cooked turkey, and I think you'll need something bigger than a 2 qt baking dish as mine was pretty full with only about a cup of meat.