Spaghetti Squash is one of the best veggies to easily replace pasta in your diet. Whether you are on the Paleo diet, eating gluten free, or just looking to reduce your consumption of pasta, Spaghetti Squash is one of the easiest substitutes!
It can be made in a variety of ways to meet your liking or recipe. I'm going to share with you my tried and true, dinner party favorite as you know that we all need one stand by dish that not everyone else makes! Even my vegetarian friends love this dish and I either remove the grass fed ground meat and substitute tofu, or just remove the protein for them completely. If you are creative in the kitchen, using this recipe as your base and building from there is encouraged and leave your comments below with your favorite variation!
This past weekend I ran out of my summer CSA crushed tomatoes in the freezer. I make a huge batch over the summer and freeze them for later winter use. Sadly, the supply is out and it is only January! I will definitely be stocking up this summer and posting the easy, crockpot crushed tomato recipe I follow....but I digress. So I ran out of tomatoes, went to my favorite grocer and they were out of crushed tomatoes in a box. I'm not a fan of the taste of crushed tomatoes in a can so I hopped over to the produce section and picked up some organic roma tomatoes to make my own.
While the tomatoes were cooking in the crockpot, I turned on the oven to bake the squash. While the squash was in the oven, I cut up the onions and sautéed them with the grass fed ground beef from
Walden Local Meat.
While the meat was going, I started shredding the Vermont Cheddar and Parm in separate containers. Ikea makes these awesome shedders that go right into a container - and they come in a 2 pack! At some point I sipped a glass of my favorite wine and kept cooking. The result was a beautiful full dish of delish squash and happy New Englanders who dug us out of 30+" of snow. It was a wonderful evening with delightful conversation about all the musings around us. Below is a plated picture and recipe - bon appetite!
Emily's Spaghetti Squash Favorite!
2 lbs. ground meat
1 onion/shallots
1 large box crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic - crushed
8 oz Vermont white cheddar cheese - shredded
2 oz or taste parm cheese - shredded
8 oz Breakstone's sour cream
2 medium sized spaghetti squashed
1 - Preheat oven to 400. Wash squash and place in casserole dish to be baked in oven. Pierce the squash like you would a potato so the pressure is released while cooking. I usually make 3-4 long knife cuts in the squash. Bake for 40 minutes, rotate 1/2 way through. Once done, wait to cool and then cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and then pull the squash apart with a fork.
2 - Chop onion and add ground meat to be sautéed. The grass fed beef typically does not need any additional fat, but if you want to do the onion first, add EVOO to sauté. Cook until meat is browned and then add garlic and tomatoes. Continue to simmer while you wait for the spaghetti squash to finish.
3 -Shred the cheddar and parm in 2 separate containers as later the layers are done separately.
4 - Layering time! Bottom to Top:
1/2 the Squash
1/2 Meat
1/2 of the sour cream
1/4 of the cheddar
Repeat 1x, except use all the remaining cheddar and sprinkle on the parm cheese as the last layer.
5 - Bake for 30 minutes on 400, until the cheese has melted and begins to slightly brown - if you like it that way ;)
6 - Take out of the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. This will give it a moment to gel and get the table set!
Enjoy! I hope it sounds like a fun recipe because it is and once you make it once it will become your go to when you have all the ingredients. Even non-veggie lovers have 2nds!
Em
