Spinach Ham Stuffed Butternut Squash with Chipotle Honey Cream Sauce

A side dish that is full of all your favorite flavors! 

Ingredients:

2 small butternut squash, washed, halved, seeds scooped out, placed on an oiled baking dish
1, 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and moisture squeezed out
6 ounces honey ham, diced
1/3 C celery finely diced
1/4 C white onion finely diced
4-5 ounces hard English cheddar cheese grated
2 ounces heavy cream – for stuffing
3 T mayonnaise
¼ t dried dill weed
Salt and pepper
1/3 C chipotle mayo
1/3 C creamy Caesar dressing
1/3 – 1/2 C heavy cream for sauce
3 T honey
Salt and pepper
3 T olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil the bottom of a small roasting pan. Brush the squash with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in pan. Cook squash, uncovered for about 45-48 minutes.
• While cooking, thaw the spinach by putting in a saucepan with about ½ C water, on medium low. When unthawed but NOT BOILING, strain and press out all the water.
• Add the diced ham, grated cheese, cream noted above for stuffing, mayo, salt and pepper, dill weed, onion, and celery and stir.
• In a small sauté pan, add the cream for sauce, Caesar dressing, chipotle mayo, and honey. Set aside until ready to heat and serve.
• When the squash has cooked for 45 minutes, pull the squash out of the oven, keeping the pan on the rack, and stuff each round opening with a mound of the spinach, ham, cheese mixture. Push back in the oven for about 20 minutes or until you can see that the onions are transparent, the ham curled from being cooked, and of course a fork pushed into the deep part of the squash yields a cooked, soft center. Remove from oven.
• Now, heat the sauce, plate each squash wedge, and ladle the sauce over the top to serve.