Squash Stuffed with Bulgur

Friday 10 October
The morning post brought Jane's copy of Family Circle, not our usual reading, but somehow, this breakfast, easier to face than The New York Review of Disasters, Depressing Politics, and Books You Couldn't Pay Me to Read.
By pure coinkidink (and I suspect that's not only the first time that I've typed that word but the first time anyone has)* we had bought an autumnal acorn squash on spec. Here's the recipe as printed.

3 small acorn squash, halved and seeded
3/4 cup bulgur wheat
2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Place squash halves, cut-side down, on a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan. Add 2 cups water, and transfer to oven. Bake at 400°F for 35 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put bulgur in a bowl. Pour 3/4 cup boiling water over bulgur; cover with plastic wrap. Let stand 30 minutes.
3. Once bulgur is softened, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook 2 minutes. Stir in garlic powder and red pepper; cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in bulgur, chili sauce and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt. Remove squash from oven; pour off water. Flip over squash; brush with maple syrup. Season with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Spoon filling in squash; return to oven. Bake 10 minutes.

We did it for two, sautéed half an onion plus real garlic and red cherry peppers (which Holt is putting into everything, 'cuz he bought way too many of them and didn't have any pickling jars at the time, and now it's too late), and skipped the chili sauce. Also, we used our usual half cup of bulgar to a cup of boiling water; can't see how equal amounts would get it soft enough to eat.
Verdict: a very tasty variation on a standard, but we think our method of baking the squash cut side UP and filling the hollow with nice things produces tastier squash flesh.

*I was, of course, totally wrong: 13,600 hits and even an entry on Urban Dictionary.