AuthorKevin PetrizioHere is a three-for-one! First, how to cook spaghetti squash. Second, a simple, tasty tomato sauce. Last, easy to make meatballs.
Portion out the extra tomato sauce and freeze. Treat it as 1/2 cup = one veggie
Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Split a spaghetti squash in half and lay open face up on baking sheet. Scoop out the seeds as you would for a pumpkin. Rub lightly with olive oil and season with Morton’s Lite salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Squash is done when you take a fork to the flesh and it shreds easily into spaghetti like strings.
Turn off heat and remove squash from oven. Let cool for 40-60 minutes.
When cool, shred all the flesh into a holding container. 1 squash should yield about 2 cups of strings.
Gently sweat onion, peppers, and garlic in the remaining olive oil over medium low heat for a few minutes.
Add basil, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon Morton's Lite salt, pepper and bay leaf and stir for 30 seconds
Add tomatoes, cover and let simmer on medium low for 40 minutes. After adding the meatballs, simmer for 20 more minutes.
Stir ground beef, crushed saltines, Italian seasoning, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper together gently. Hands are best for this.
When completely mixed, divide into 1.1 oz. portions. There should be 12.
Roll into meatballs and add to the tomato sauce.
Cook for 20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
Remove the meatballs and discard the bay leaf.
I now blend the sauce with a stick blender to make it thick and smooth. You don’t have to or you can use a regular blender if you want.
To serve take ¾ cup of spaghetti squash and pour ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over it. Add 4 meatballs and you have a delicious dinner.
Count Meal as: 1 protein- 2 veggies- 1 starch - 1 fat
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Split a spaghetti squash in half and lay open face up on baking sheet. Scoop out the seeds as you would for a pumpkin. Rub lightly with olive oil and season with Morton’s Lite salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Squash is done when you take a fork to the flesh and it shreds easily into spaghetti like strings.
Turn off heat and remove squash from oven. Let cool for 40-60 minutes.
When cool, shred all the flesh into a holding container. 1 squash should yield about 2 cups of strings.
Gently sweat onion, peppers, and garlic in the remaining olive oil over medium low heat for a few minutes.
Add basil, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon Morton's Lite salt, pepper and bay leaf and stir for 30 seconds
Add tomatoes, cover and let simmer on medium low for 40 minutes. After adding the meatballs, simmer for 20 more minutes.
Stir ground beef, crushed saltines, Italian seasoning, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper together gently. Hands are best for this.
When completely mixed, divide into 1.1 oz. portions. There should be 12.
Roll into meatballs and add to the tomato sauce.
Cook for 20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
Remove the meatballs and discard the bay leaf.
I now blend the sauce with a stick blender to make it thick and smooth. You don’t have to or you can use a regular blender if you want.
To serve take ¾ cup of spaghetti squash and pour ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over it. Add 4 meatballs and you have a delicious dinner.
Count Meal as: 1 protein- 2 veggies- 1 starch - 1 fat
