Serve this as a side dish at Thanksgiving dinner or as a hearty weeknight meal. If you've got vegetarians coming to dinner, replace the turkey sausage with tofu crumbles or mushrooms and use vegetable stock in place of chicken and serve this dish as a hearty vegetarian entree.

Flavor-Packed Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1.5 hours

4 small acorn squashes
2 Tbsps. unsalted butter
½ package mild Italian turkey sausage
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped or julienned carrot
½ cup chicken stock
1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
1 6-ounce package fresh spinach, chopped
1 ½ tsps. dried oregano
1 tart apple, chopped into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper to taste  
½ cup toasted walnuts
½ cup feta cheese
¼ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1 inch off the top of each acorn squash and scoop out seeds. Cut off a small piece of the bottom to allow squash to sit upright. Divide butter into 4 pieces and put 1 piece inside each squash. Set aside.

Place a large sauté pan in the oven over medium heat. Remove casing from turkey sausage and place in pan. Cook, breaking into small pieces, until it’s no longer pink. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Add olive oil, onion and celery to pan, and cook for about 8 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add chicken broth to pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. 

Add rice, spinach, oregano, sausage and salt and pepper to taste to pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes until warm.  Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, feta and dried cranberries. Fill each squash with stuffing, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, replace lid and bake for 1 hour or until squash can be easily pricked with a fork.

It’s peak pear season in Ukrop’s produce department. These juicy, fresh fruits are delicious when eaten alone as a snack, but they can also be used in all sorts of recipes. Mix them with sugar, butter and cloves, then serve them over ice cream for a unique dessert.

Caramelized Pears Over Ice Cream
Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes

4 Tbsps. unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
4 pears, cored and cut into large dice (about 4 cups)
¼ tsp. ground cloves
4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Once butter foams, sprinkle sugar on top and cook until bubbling and dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add pears and cook, stirring rarely, until mixture is caramelized and pears just start to release juice. Gently fold in cloves. Place 1 scoop of ice cream in each of 4 bowls. Spoon pears over ice cream.

Ukrop’s Bakery creates an array of seasonal breads that are perfect for entertaining. Just add your favorite fillers for easy treats that are filled with seasonal flavor. Two of our favorite crowd-pleasers are Winter Fruit & Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Sweet Potato Biscuits with Cream Cheese Filling.

Winter Fruit & Brie Grilled Cheeses
Yield: 10 half sandwiches | Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1 loaf Ukrops’ Cranberry Pecan Artisan Bread  
6 oz. Brie cheese
1 ripe red pear
1 Granny Smith Apple
Butter

When buying the Cranberry Pecan Artisan Bread, ask the bakery associate to slice it for you. At home, carefully cut the rind off of the Brie. Then, thinly slice the apple and pear. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Assemble sandwiches with chunks of Brie and a combination of apple and pear slices. Cook over medium heat until bread is browned and Brie is melted. Allow to cool for about 2 minutes before slicing in half. Serve on a platter.

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 16 Biscuits | Prep Time: 5 minutes

2 packs Ukrop’s Small Sweet Potato Biscuits
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup pecan pieces
2 Tbsps. honey
¼ tsp. cinnamon

If you like warm biscuits, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wrap biscuits in foil and place in oven for 10 minutes or until warm. While biscuits are heating, in a small bowl, stir together rest of ingredients until smooth. Remove biscuits from oven. Cut each one in half and spread with cream cheese.

This indulgent dessert is easy to put together and incredibly delicious. It’s perfect for serving as an alternative for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or throwing together to tote to a last-minute party or work function. Once you taste the spicy, creamy flavor with a hint of citrus, we guarantee this will become a go-to fall/winter dessert.

Ukrop’s Gingerbread Topped with Cream Cheese Frosting and Lemon Sauce
Serves: 8-9 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 3 minutes

1 package Ukrop’s Gingerbread

Cream Cheese Topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp. milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract


Lemon Sauce:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsps. flour

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
Dash of nutmeg

1 1/2 tsps. lemon juice

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese with milk, sugar and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

In a saucepan, stir together the butter, sugar, and flour. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring as you go. Add lemon peel and nutmeg. Boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Spread cream cheese topping on top of gingerbread. Drizzle with lemon sauce.

This is a guy-pleasing dish that’s simple to prepare before everyone arrives to watch the game. Just quickly brown your sausage, throw the ingredients into the crock pot and forget about it until your friends are ready for a hearty meal.

If you haven’t tried Joe’s Market Marinara Sauce, this is the perfect opportunity. It’s made with San Marzano tomatoes straight from Italy and, unlike many other jarred pasta sauces on the market, it’s free of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Try some today in this or your favorite Italian recipe.

Easy Italian Sausage Hoagies
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 4 hours | Serves: 10

10 uncooked Italian pork sausages, hot or mild, or Joe’s Market Italian Chicken Sausages
2 Tbsps. Joe’s Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 jar Joe’s Market Marinara Sauce
½ medium green pepper, sliced thin
½ medium red pepper, sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thin (optional)
½ cup water
¼ cup Joe’s Market Asiago Cheese, grated, plus more for garnishing
2 Tbsps. dried oregano
2 Tbsps. dried basil
10 Ukrop’s Bakery Hoagie Rolls

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; add sausage and brown, then drain. If you’re using Joe’s Market Italian Chicken Sausage you can skip this step because the sausage is pre-cooked. Place in crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the hoagie rolls and stir together. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until sausage is no longer pink. Fill each hoagie roll with sausage, peppers, onions and sauce. Top with additional Joe’s Market Asiago cheese. Serve with Joe’s Market Kettle Chips or your favorite Ukrop’s Kitchen pasta salad.