Fall is officially here. As in last week we celebrated the first week of fall. Also as in, I practically went from sandals and tank tops to scarves and cute coats overnight.

I quickly realized the err of my ways when we went to Charleston this past weekend for the Southern Living Taste of Charleston food and wine festival. I was in jeans and a warm cardigan. It was all very cute.

And it was all so very wrong.

Unfortunately it was a warm 80 degrees and Beau and I found ourselves over a delicious sampling of shrimp (not just any shrimp mind you – it was, as they called it, the world’s best shrimp) completely overheated. As we plopped juicy, saucy shrimp into our mouths we began discussing how many clothes we could strip off before being asked to leave the festival grounds.

This conversation escalated quickly as we found ourselves nonchalantly talking about taking off our pants, thinking it should be fine because surely EVERYONE here would understand and OF COURSE they would probably want to take their pants off too…RIGHT?!

It was at that moment that we knew it was time to leave. Because, let’s all please keep our pants on in the public arenas. And also, I would like to issue a prompt, “You’re Welcome!” to Southern Living because we did keep our pants on.

So while the weather might have us tricked, the produce aisle does not. It is fall. There are pumpkins and acorn squash and well, all the squash.

So, let’s make and eat fall things! And if you want to wear your scarf while you cook, I am down for that. But also, this might be hazardous – so do this at your own risk.

Paleo Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe

This paleo stuffed butternut squash is satisfying and easy enough for a weeknight meal.

First we cut the butternut squash in half (sharp knives, please!) and cook it.

Once it is cooked we scoop out all the seeds. Then we hollow out the squash and add the soft flesh into a bowl.

Be sure to leave some squash around the edges of the skin to maintain its structure.

Now we cook the meat. We had ground turkey on hand but you can use ground chicken or ground pork. We also had apples but I think pears would taste yummy too.

We like to embrace the savory flavors of the fall so I add fresh sage which is brilliant up against the boldness of cracked black pepper and the sweet crunch of the apples.

We stuff the squash, bake it in the oven and then serve.

Beau and I can get four servings out of one squash. We do this by splitting each half into a half. It’s perfect.

Here’s to a time in the near future where we can all leave our pants on while amidst the public.

Paleo Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe

Print Recipe

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

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• 1 butternut squash
• 1 lbs ground turkey (or ground chicken or ground pork)
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 apple, core removed, chopped
• 1/2 red onion. chopped

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise
3. Line a jelly roll pan or glass baking dish with aluminum foil and put the squash, cut side down, on the pan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
6. Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Add onion and apples. Saute for about 3 minutes. I like to then add butter to give it a nice caramelization. Saute for another 2 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
7. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
8. Add the ground turkey, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
9. Cook until all the pink from the meat is gone, about 10 minutes.
10. Return to the butternut squash and discard all the seeds.
11. Remove the flesh from the squash and place in a bowl. Leave some of the flesh on the walls of the squash to maintain its structure.
12. Mash the squash in the bowl with a fork to break it up and then add the fresh sage.
13. Add this mixture to the ground turkey in the skillet.
14. Mix until combined. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
15. Scoop out the mixture from the skillet and add to the hollow butternut squash halves.
16. Place the filled squash halves in a baking dish and put back in the oven for 10 minutes.
17. Optional: add parmesan cheese to the top of the squash before placing it in the oven.
18. Cut the squash in half width-wise to get 4 servings.