I love spaghetti squash because it’s a nutritious vessel for just about anything!
It makes a great pasta substitute, has important nutrients like folate (a key nutrient for pregnancy) and it’s pretty affordable.
Today we’ll use one squash as a base for lasagna and we’ll end up with four adult servings, plus 1-2 younger kid servings. Talk about value!
Ingredients:
•1 spaghetti squash
•1 lb ground beef (preferably organic + grass fed)
•4 tbsp butter (preferably organic + grass fed)
•16 oz ricotta cheese (made with whole milk. Preferably organic + grass fed)
•4 oz mozzarella, shredded (preferably organic + grass fed)
•15 tomato sauce (preferably organic + no added sugar)
•Handful fresh basil, chopped
•1/2 sweet onion, chopped
•5-6 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 tsp each: salt + chili powder
•1/4 tsp each: black pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, coriander, ground cloves, allspice
Directions:
•Heat a skillet over a medium flame. Add 2 tbsp butter, onion and garlic. Stir regularly. Cook until onions soften, about 10 minutes.
•Add ground beef to skillet + scramble together with onion and garlic.
•Add spices + mix well.
•Add tomato sauce to skillet + stir well. Reduce flame to low and allow mixture to simmer + thicken (about 10-15 minutes).
•Meanwhile, prepare the spaghetti squash. Cut the squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. In a glass pan, add 2 tbsp of filtered water. Place the squash cut side down into the pan. Microwave for 10 minutes. Squash is done when it can easily be shredded with two forks.
•When squash is done, using two forks, shred each half into a large mixing bowl. Take care not to pierce the squash skin.
•Drain remaining water from the glass pan + set the squash skins inside the pan, cut side up.
•Add 2 tbsp of butter + 8 oz of ricotta cheese to the bowl. Mix well.
•When the ground beef/tomato mixture has reduced, add that to the mixing bowl. Mix well.
•Spoon the mixture into the squash skins, reserving the leftover mixture for kids’ meals.
•Top each half with the remaining ricotta, followed by shredded mozzarella.
•Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. OR, if not using a glass pan, you can simply set your oven to BROIL for 5-10 minutes.
•Top with salt, black pepper + fresh basil.
•Cut each squash half again, creating two smaller halves. Each smaller half is one adult serving.
the northeast ginger 