Not Your Mama's Pasta!

One food many of us miss once we decide to make better a lifestyle food change is pasta.  Oh, the carby deliciousness.  I have tried a few different noodle substitutes, but the best by far has to be spaghetti squash (I have tried cabbage, zucchini & carrots).  I tried this over the weekend and it was AMAZING!  It can be a bit time consuming to prep and cook the squash (but it is so worth it); make sure to plan ahead.  Feeling like pasta??? Give this one a try.

Not Your Mama's Pasta Recipe
What you need:
1 spaghetti squash
1 jar pasta sauce
Meatballs - I used Turkey meatballs
Veggies - I used broccoli, onion, olives, mushroom, and spinach

​Prepping the Squash: Clean and cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Take out the seeds from the middle and place cut side down in a baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  After 20 minutes, flip the halves over and bake shell side down for another 20 minutes or until the inside of your squash is tender.  Once the inside of your squash is tender, you can run a fork through the inside of the squash and the flesh will come out in strings like spaghetti.  The photo below shows the flesh of the squash once I removed it from the shell.  

  Step 1.  
  Remove flesh of squash from the shell and place into a   baking/ casserole dish.  (Some of the broccoli escaped     into this photo.......There should not be green things in     your squash unless you put it there.)

---

Step 2.
Add meatballs.  These are frozen pre-cooked turkey meatballs.  If you do homemade, add them once they are fully cooked.

---

Step 3.  
Add your veggies.  Pick whatever you want, but don't skip adding veggies.  

---

Step 4.
Add your pasta sauce.  I used a mushroom flavored store brand sauce.  Use whatever you like.

---

Stir it all up in the casserole dish and bake it for about 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Depending on the "volume" of what is in your pasta dish, it could be more or less time - just be sure to check it regularly.  It is done when everything has cooked and is hot - the meatballs are no longer frozen (they are hot and juicy) and the veggies are soft and cooked and everything has absorbed the pasta sauce.  Do not let your dish cook to the point of being dry!  There should be enough veggies in this to keep everything moist.

Seriously, this is a great "pasta" dish.  Do you have a recipe you want to share?

BodyNista