Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Tonight I had a Skype date with 2 of my lovely girlfriends…

We had some technical difficulties, but still, chatting with my college roommates Meaghan and Marla is always great! Meg might look familiar because I posted pictures when she visited me in February. Here’s a photo that exemplifies pretty well the fun times we’ve had together:

I love my friends.

Moving onto food, tonight’s dinner was a veggie-packed one, and one of my hubby’s favorite meals. In fact, when he came home from his last deployment and I asked what he’d like me to cook the most, he chose my spaghetti squash casserole. I concocted this dish when I first started playing around with cooking spaghetti squash, and I don’t think I’ve made it any other way since because we like it so much!

I found the mini-sized squash pictured at my farmer’s market. This worked out well so I could make a smaller version of my normal casserole, since it’s just little ole’ me eating it.

[Note: there are several ways to cook a spaghetti squash. This is just the way I like to do so.]

Spaghetti Squash Casserole  

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 small spaghetti squash
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 large zucchini
• 1 cup tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes (I used some of my classic tomato sauce)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 onion
• 1/2 c shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese
• 2 TBSP grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• Vegetable stock for sauteing (oil or cooking wine will work as well)
• Salt, pepper, & basil to taste

To cook the squash:

Preheat oven to 350. Poke holes into the squash with a knife,  then pop in the microwave on a plate for a few minutes to make it tender.

Cut squash in half lengthwise and place on a baking pan. Bake in the oven until lightly browned, as pictured. I left mine in the oven for 30 minutes.

After the spaghetti squash has been cooking for 15-20 minutes, warm a burner on medium heat.

Chop up the onion, garlic, zucchini and red pepper. Throw it all in a skillet with a few TBSPs of vegetable stock, and cook for around 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the spaghetti squash is cooked, begin to “comb” the strands out with a fork. Put half of the squash strands onto the bottom of a small baking dish. Layer half of the sauteed veggies on top, then add 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Repeat the layering, then sprinkle the casserole with grated cheese and season with salt, pepper and basil.

Bake the dish in the oven until cheese is melted and it starts to brown a bit.

I enjoyed my spaghetti squash with a Trader Joe’s baby baguette:

Such a yummy, healthy veggie packed meal!

Nutrition stats per serving: 220 calories, 10 g fat, 11 g protein, 25 g carbs