Twice Baked Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

This lone spaghetti squash has been sitting on top of our microwave for over a week now,  awaiting its fate.

Today was the day.

Baking it and using the stringy contents as “noodles” wasn’t really appealing to me, instead stuffing it seemed like the way to go! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1/2lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/3c onions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• dash of pepper
• 1 can of pasta sauce
• 1/2c shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

I thought I’d start from the beginning.  For those of you out there who aren’t familiar with how to cook a spaghetti squash, here’s how:

 
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

There are several ways to cook these guys but since I was going to stuff them, I simply used a sharp knife to split them in half length-wise.

Scoop out the seeds and gooey contents.
 
Place in a baking dish face down.  Add an inch of water to the dish.  Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.

While the squash is cooking, brown the ground beef (I used extra lean) with the chopped onions plus oregano & pepper.  Once cooked, add pasta sauce to the mix.  Let simmer.

*Ding* squash is ready!  The rind should be soft to the touch.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Once cooled, use a fork to scrap the contents of the squash into a mixing bowl.  It should easily separate into the “noodles”. 🙂 

 
Add the squash to the beef mixture.  Mix well and let simmer for 5 minutes.

 
With a large spoon, fill the squash rinds with the beef mixture.  There will be leftovers.

 

Sprinkle the tops with shredded parmesan cheese.

Bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.  Remove from oven and let sit.

Tada!
Served up with a side of cheesy toast.

This was a healthy, delicious, hearty meal.  One that could be easily modified to make vegetarian.    And, more importantly, hubby approved!  😉

Mmm mmm, melty cheese!

I love the fact that there were minimal ingredients required for this dish.  Can’t wait to make it again!

Let me know if you try it!

***

Un-Intentional Break Through

Over the weekend, I was going back over my blog posts to look for recipes and restaurant reviews.   As I was reading, I made several observations about my eating/activity over the past few years, compared to the past 3 months.

• Smaller Portions – As in my portions of late are usually the same as hubby’s.  My body just doesn’t need as much fuel as his.
• Healthier Eats – I’ve slipped back into some junky eats.  More empty carbs vs apple + apple butter or a Larabar.  Subway also used to be the ONLY place I’d get fast food from, with the occasional veggie pizza. Now it’s whatever works.
• Homemade Pizza – Only had veggies & cheese.  I’ve slowly incorporated processed meats on our pies.
• Baking Snacks – I still bake a few times a month but not like I used to.  Muffins, oatcakes, cookies. All healthy made.
• Frozen Treats – It was froyo & smoothies. I tried to save real ice cream for a treat when we’d go out for a cone.  There’s been an absurd amount of the full fat stuff in our freezer recently.
• Exercise – I was waaaaay more active.  Remember how I trained for a half marathon this past Winter?  I was always running or doing Shred.
• Tracking –   I was definitely more diligent with tracking/staying within my calorie allowance.  Lately, there’s been half hearted attempts here and there. But no real commitment.
• Weigh Ins – There was a time where I was consistently posting my weight and WI’s.  As in, every freaking Saturday, no matter what.
• Meal Plans – Was also posting my full meals on a regular basis.
• Measuring – Yup, I saw pictures were I was actually eating my serving of whatever out of a measuring cup.

Going back over the posts to look for changes in my lifestyle was completely unintentionally but am I ever happy that I took the time to make note of these things.  I’m not going to lie, lately it’s been a struggle.  But this is for life, so I’m dealing and moving on.

Do you ever re-read some of your old posts to see what you’ve learned?