(#23) Appreciate: December 26

My room is swept, dishes are washed, laundry is folded and hung and dinner is served: a well spent post-Holiday day off.

Spaghetti squash lasagna: one of my favorite meals to make and eat!

I use this recipe as my base and have built my own off of it. Here’s mine:

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
2 spicy Italian sausage links
1 chicken breast
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small-medium onion, diced
1 small can (8 oz) tomato paste
1 cup pasta sauce of your choice
1 cup shredded Mozzarella (more to taste)
1 cup shredded Parmesean (more to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic – minced, grated or diced
salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil and red pepper to taste

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a baking pan. Halve the spaghetti squash (the yellower the better, riper) and place cut side down on the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until you can easily insert a knife. Set aside and let cool. When cool enough to touch, de-seed by removing the top (browned) layer. After, use a fork to scrape the squash. You will get thin strings that look like noodles. Empty both halves, placing the ‘noodles’ in a separate bowl.
• Keep oven on at the same temperature and grease a deeper baking pan.
• Meanwhile, slice zucchini and squash – put aside in separate bowl
• Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces; tear sausage into bite-sized chunks
• Add sausage to heated pan until browned. Drain grease & wipe grease off from pan.
• Add olive oil to heated pan. Saute onions and garlic until onions begin to brown. Add chicken and saute until cooked through.
• Add tomato sauce, tomatoes & seasonings. Stir and add in meats.
• Place a lid on pot over medium heat until boiling.
• Layer the baking pan with half of the spaghetti squash noodles, zucchini and squash, meat sauce and mozzarella. Repeat. This should make two layers.
• Cover the top in Parmesan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until Parmesan is melted.