As I get older and more experienced in the kitchen I like to experiment with different textures and flavors. Last week, I wanted to pretend like Miami was experiencing fall-like conditions, so the pumpkin coffee came out, and the squash was in the shopping cart. I have cooked spaghetti squash so many times, but often simply used it as a substitute for pasta. I roast it, scoop out the flesh and top it with my favorite sauce and meatballs. I have seen stuffed spaghetti squash pinned over and over and over again, but I didn’t want to use a recipe. Why? So I could create my own for all of my wonderful readers!
I came up with a take on a meat sauce and boy was it delicious! If you want to make this completely vegetarian just double up on the mushrooms and shop half of them finely.
Ingredients:
1 large Spaghetti Squash
Olive Oil
1 lb Grass Fed Beef
1 Large Yellow Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Chopped Red Pepper
1 Pint Sliced Baby Bellas
1 Can Diced Tomatos
1/4 Cup Mozzarella
2 Cups Spinach
1 large Sweet Potato
2 Tbs Ricotta (Optional)
1 Tbs Italian Spice (Oregano, basil etc)
1/4 tsp Red Pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Microwave the squash for five minutes to soften. Peel and slice sweet potato, lay on the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until soft, but not mushy. Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and bake for an hour. In the mean time heat oil in a pan, add onion and let soften. Add red pepper and garlic and let those soften. Add mushrooms, spices and cook until soft, but not completely cooked through. Add the meat and cook until browned, add diced tomatoes and simmer. Add potatoes and mix in spinach, salt and pepper to taste.
Remove squash front he oven and add some of the meat mixture to the center on the squash, top with a little Ricotta, add more mean mixture and top with half of the mozzarella. Bake for another 15 minutes and serve immediately.
