Don't be intimidated by spaghetti squash! Many people will use it in place of regular spaghetti noodles when they want to cut down on carbs. It has a neutral taste, making it easily paired with lots of foods. But wait, how do I get spaghetti out of this yellow pumpkin, you ask? When you scrape the insides out after you cook it, it has the consistency of long noodles!
I haven't used a spaghetti squash in a really long time because, frankly, I was so sick of making it with ground chicken and marinara. That's when I found this super tasty recipe on Eat Yourself Skinny! It's simple to put together on a weeknight for a quick and delicious, low-carb dinner. Give it a try!
Spaghetti Squash Sausage Boats
Ingredients
2 Spaghetti Squash1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground sausage (I used Giant Eagle Sweet Italian, you could make this dish even healthier by using a turkey sausage instead!)
1 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 pinches of red papper flakes (to taste)
1 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes
1 cup reduced sodium organic chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Dried Basil to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut squash down the middle (long ways) and scrape out the seeds. (Feels like Halloween, doesn't it?!)
3. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place squash halves face down on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes until tender.
4. While the squash is baking, drizzle a large skillet with evoo. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
5. Add ground sausage, crumbling it with your fingers as you add it in. Sprinkle it all with as many pinches of red pepper flakes as you prefer. Mix well and cook until sausage is fully cooked.
6. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, half and half, sea salt and pepper. Cover and simmer while your squash finishes cooking.
7. When squash is done, remove from oven to cool. Time for the most intricate and time consuming part of this process.....
8. When cooled enough, start scraping the insides from the spaghetti squash. Use a fork and the strands will easily pull right out. Try not to make holes in your squash's since you'll be using them as bowls for your sausage mixture!
9. When you're done scraping your squash halves out, add all the spaghetti squash strands into your sausage mixture, along with half of the mozzarella cheese. Mix well and make it all super HAPPY!
10. Spoon the sausage and squash mixture evenly back into your squash halves. Wala, Squash boats!
11. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining mozzarella cheese and dried basil, to taste. Place back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
12. Serve and enjoy! This is a very filling meal for me and I didn't even need anything served on the side!
