Fall Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bowls

Besides the changing colors, rainy weather and the chance to wear my favorite boots, I love Fall for the change in produce. Squash is a hot commodity these days and since I'm trying to return to a healthy lifestyle I wanted to find a fun, easy, and healthy recipe to make for dinner this week. I looked to my trusty friend Pinterest and found this recipe from The Tasteful Pantry. I changed it up a tad by using less cheese to keep it more on the "lighter" side and it was delicious. Scott even loved it and asked if we could have it again soon!

While the recipe calls for two spaghetti squash, we only purchased one which left us with quite a bit of leftover sauce. We popped it in the freezer and will use it for a future meal. Nothing better than making one recipe that can create two meals!

You can change up this recipe however you'd like depending on what you have in your pantry. I didn't have fennel seeds or paprika so I left those out. I also didn't love the idea of a bay leaf in the mix so I kept that out as well. In a hurry? Grab a couple jars of your favorite sauce and add to ground beef or turkey. BOOM you have your sauce!

Oh and by the way, I promise next time I'll take more photos along the way! 

What you'll need (serves 4):

• 2 small spaghetti squash
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon basil 
• 1 cup low fat (2% or less) cottage cheese or ricotta
• 1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and slice your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds (similar to how you'd carve a pumpkin), brush with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Place skin sides up on a cookie sheet or shallow pan covered in tin foil (easy clean up) and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

While your squash is baking, brown the ground beef and chop your onion. Saute the onion in a separate pot until it starts to soften, about 5-6 minutes. Once soft, add the garlic, red pepper flakes and fennel and let them cook for about 1 minute. Next, add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, tomato paste, paprika, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and basil. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer while the squash bakes away.

Once the squash is done, remove from oven and scrap out small portion of the insides. Top each half with cottage cheese, then meat sauce, and finally mozzarella cheese. Place back in the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and brown.
 
I can't wait to try more squash recipes this Fall and Winter. What's your favorite spaghetti squash recipe?