Spaghetti Squash

I love spaghetti squash. It can be a pain in the ass to cook, but my mom and I have figured it out. Since then, it's saved me during pasta cravings. I'm not big on savory foods: I'd take a big bowl of Ben & Jerry's over a steak any day. But I do love Italian. It's a glutenous little indulgence that I like to savor in every now and then. Here's a recipe that Mama Moff and I have made time and time again. Loaded with veggies, it will fill you up fast and keep you going for several hours. To give credit where credit is due, this is definitely not my recipe. It's from a wonderful cyber chef out there in the blog world, though I cannot remember the name of the nice young lady who created it. To the chef out there who put this together, thank you.

You'll need:

1. 1 large spaghetti squash. The meat will make about 3 1/2 cups of squash.

2. 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil. I do love coconut oil, but EVOO is better for this one.

3. 2 cloves of garlic, minced

4. 1/2 cup chopped red onion

5. 3/4 cup chopped button mushrooms

6. 1 large carrot, chopped

7. 1/2 chopped bell pepper. Any color is fine. Red and orange work best.

8. 2 cups spinach

9. 1/2 cup diced tomatoes

10. 1/4 cup Panko

11. 1 cup low-sugar marinara. If you can make it yourself, do it. If not, try Traditional Prego, Light Smart. It's aight.

12. Basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste

13. 1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese. Be careful with this because some cheese can pack in a shit load of fat. I use Vegan cheese, but whatever is good for you.

14. Nutritional yeast for topping. It's just like Parmesan cheese. If you can't find it, Parmesan is fine. Again, just be gentle. 

Note: I add more veggies than this usually to cut calorie and add bulk.

1. Preheat the oven to 375. 

2. Slice the spaghetti squash in half. There are a couple of ways to soften the meat. You can either place it on a cookie sheet and bake it for roughly 40 minutes. This sounds nice and all, but it takes too long. Another way is to cut it in half, place the squash facing up in a microwave safe dish. Fill the dish with water until it hits the middle of the squash. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dish and microwave for 10-12minutes on high. Makes things go faster. Trust.

3. While the squash is cooking, chop all your ingredients. In a very large pan, almost wok size if you have it, sauté garlic and onion with your olive oil. Add carrots, mushrooms, and pepper, followed by tomatoes and spinach. There really isn't a wrong way to do this. Just do the spinach last or it will get gross.

4. Once the squash is done cooking and it's cooled for a few minutes, scrape it all into a large bowl. Keep the shells. You'll need them.

5. Add sautéed veggies, Panko, 3/4 cup of marinara, 1/4 cup of cheese, and spices and mix it all up into a big mess. 

6. Once mixed, divide it into the two shells. Top with the remaining marinara and nutritional yeast. If you want to add cheese on top too, knock yourself out.

 7. Bake for 10 minutes and enjoy.

I love this for dinner with added chicken. My recipe is a bit cleaner than the original, so I can tell you that it's super low in calorie and high in fiber. This one is a little more work, but totally worth it.

SM