Preheat oven to 415°

Chop onion, celery, apple, and garlic. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add chopped veggies. Cook 2 - 3 minutes.

Add 1/2 tsp ground sage and thyme to the skillet along with rice. Stir and cook an additional 2 - 3 minutes to lightly toast rice.

Add chicken stock to skillet, increase heat to high and bring to boil. When boiling, reduce to simmer over low heat, cover, and cook 45 minutes.

While the rice cooks, get the delicata squash ready. I like to cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, then cut each half into thirds vertically and slice the thirds into about 1/2 inch wide strips.

Add squash to a baking sheet, and toss with oil salt and pepper to taste, and remaining 1/2 tsp sage. Bake 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes is up, add sliced sausage to pan with squash and continue to cook in oven for 5 - 10 minutes (until the squash is cooked through and the sausage is hot). Remove from oven and set aside.

When squash, sausage, and rice is all cooked, add squash and sausage to skillet along with dried cranberries. Stir to combine. Top with grated cheese (if desired), then turn off heat, cover pan, and let sit for about 5 minutes. You can also stick the pan under the broiler if desired to melt the cheese faster (make sure your pan is oven safe).