Monday, October 5, 2015

Recipe {Spaghetti Stuffed Spaghetti Squash}

An attainable, healthy, comforting dinner that is beautiful enough for guests, channels a classic, and can be reheated for leftovers?! Is there anyone who wouldn't be on board with this recipe? This spaghetti stuffed spaghetti squash is a great way to cut out carbs, use a readily available gourd and make a meal that takes a minimal amount of active work.


For those of you who aren't familiar with spaghetti squash, it is a yellow, oval squash found with pumpkins, acorn and butternut squash. When cooked, the 'meat' of the squash can be shredded into spaghetti like ribbons.

The filling requires a high-quality and well-seasoned ground chicken. If you have access to a New Seasons I always get the spicy Italian ground chicken. This is the one ingredient you should be specific about. The red sauce is really up to you. For this, I grabbed romesco sauce from the deli at New Seasons, but any flavorful or unique red sauce will work. Go with what you like.


Spaghetti Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Makes 4 Servings

1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
1 lb Ground Chicken
1 Onion, diced
EVOO
1/3-1/2 Cup Romesco, Vodka or Marinara Sauce
3/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut spaghetti squash in half and clean out seeds. Face down, cook the spaghetti squash for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

While the squash is cooking: In a large pan over medium-high heat saute the onions in the EVOO until translucent. Add the ground chicken and cook completely. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 the cheese and the red sauce. 

Flip the squash over and gently use a fork to begin shredding the squash. This is not a 'full scraping' but a mild scraping for the baking process. Evenly distribute the meat filling between the two-halves. Top each half with the remaining cheese and return to the oven to bake for 20-30 minutes.


5 comments:

  1. One of my favorite things about fall and winter food is squash and using roasted Squash as "bowls" for stuff!

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  2. One of my favorite things about fall and winter food is squash and using roasted Squash as "bowls" for stuff!

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  3. Spaghetti squash is my all time favorite! I was so bummed they don't have it at the farmers market yet. I'll be making this dish soon - it looks fantastic! (And thanks for the tip on the spicy ground chicken from New Seasons, too! I'm recently adding some meat back into my diet and it sounds right up my alley.)

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  4. This looks amazing. Never thought of doing that to a squash. Or spaghetti.

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  5. Totally trying this with the fake-meat crumbles I bought the other day!

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