Healthy Spaghetti Alternative

Spaghetti Squash has intrigued me for a while.  I'm not a huge squash fan, but the health benefits of this were interesting.  I'm also a huge pasta fan and it's been hard to give this up.  A while back we switched to the veggie pasta, but it still has a lot of carbs.  This weekend we had some friends over and we decided to try spaghetti squash!  I was shocked at how easy it was, and how similar the texture was to regular spaghetti.  I couldn't tell the difference!  Topped with crock pot turkey pasta sauce, it was delicious, filling, and healthy!  This sauce should freeze well too so we can have the leftovers later on a night where we don't have time!

**Update: it heats up very well and even 3 days later tastes great!  The texture wasn't compromised which was my biggest worry.  I mixed in the pasta sauce after heating both, and it was a fabulous dinner! 

Spaghetti Squash: Serves 2-3 adults

Ingredients

1 Spaghetti squash

2tsp olive oil

Garlic powder

Sea salt

Pepper

Directions:

• Heat oven to 425F
• Using a sharp knife, make small cuts around the squash as if to halve it lengthwise
• Put squash in the microwave for 2 minutes
• Remove from the microwave and use the sharp knife to carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise, along the cuts you made earlier
• Scoop out all the seeds and dispose of them
• Drizzle the flesh side of the squash with olive oil.  Season with the garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper to taste
• Lay each half of the squash flesh down (with the hard shell facing upwards) in a glass dish
• Bake for about 40 minutes
• Remove, and turn over to show the flesh.  Use a couple of forks to pull the flesh out of the husk.  It will automatically shred into spaghetti-like pieces
• Top with your favorite topping and enjoy!

Turkey Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (lean)

1 red pepper

Any desired seasonings

1 jar pasta sauce (I look for homemade ones)

Directions:

• In a large frying pan or a cast iron skillet, brown the ground turkey.
• After the meat is cooked, use a strainer to drain the grease into the container the meat came in. Dispose of this.
• Return the meat to the skillet.  Add the red pepper (dice prior to this step) and any other seasonings you may choose.  I like to use garlic powder, oregano, and italian seasoning.
• Heat these for a few minutes then let cool and store in a container if you’re not using it immediately.
• You have two options for the sauce.  You can either add the jar of sauce directly to the ground turkey in the skillet after you added the seasonings, or you can save the meat for later in the week and use the crock pot.
• Crock Pot option: During the workweek I like to have the meat pre-made then I toss it in a crock pot with the sauce, on low.  Add some water if you’re cooking it for longer than 4 hours.  Otherwise cook 4 hours on low then set it to turn to warm.
• Use the sauce to top your favorite pasta or the spaghetti squash