Mike and I installed a doggie door this summer for Madison.

I think she has finally achieved her ultimate goal in life – to come and go as she pleases.

All I’m saying is that it was a little TOO easy to train her to use this door.

She’ll always come back in for food, though.

What You Need:

• One large summer squash (about 10′ long and fairly thick)
• 1 cup diced onions
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 chopped jalapeno
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup garlic scapes, chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 lb. hot Italian (or your favorite) sausage, sliced into 1″ pieces
• 3 cups tomato sauce, either your favorite jar sauce, or homemade this way

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 325F

Halve the squash lengthwise from stem to end and scoop out the inside seeds so you’re left with a hollow “bowl”.

Place face-down on parchment paper and bake for about 40 minutes.

While the squash is baking, take a large skillet and partially caramelize the onions by cooking them with the water on medium heat, covered, for about 10 minutes or until they soften and become fragrant.

Add the green pepper, jalapeno, cherry tomatoes, garlic scape and wine, and continue to cook, covered, for about 15-20 minutes or until all vegetables are soft and cooked through, the cherry tomatoes are puckered and split, and the wine has cooked off.

Remove from heat, drain and set aside in a large bowl.

In a separate skillet, heat the coconut oil on low-medium heat, and add the sausage. Cook for about 15 minutes, turning the sausage periodically to prevent burning and to cook through each piece.

When the sausage is done, drain on a paper towel to absorb the grease, and add to the vegetable mixture, stirring thoroughly to combine.

Remove the squash from the oven and flip over so the scooped-out side is facing up.

Scoop the sausage filling into each squash liberally.

Place back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Cover each piece with tomato sauce and serve.