Monday Meals: Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

We're back from a brief break, and we hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! The Arkansas Test Kitchen spent some time in Nashville visiting family, and sightseeing.

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen stuck close to home, but did take a day trip  to Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. If you get a chance to see the Mammoths and Mastodons exhibit- DO IT!!! Our little chef loved it. 

But now we're back with new recipes for the rest of 2015! After a week of eating leftover stuffing, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes; we were ready for something a little healthier. We felt like we needed to de-carb a little bit after our Thanksgiving feast and leftovers. Substituting squash for pasta seemed like a good place to start. 

Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

1 medium sized spaghetti squash
1 jar marinara sauce
1 lb. ground turkey

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half, and scoop the seeds out of the inside. Bake the squash- skin side down until soft (30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the squash). Once tender, remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While squash is cooling, brown turkey in a large frying pan. Once the meat is cooked through (no pink), drain the grease and combine with marinara sauce and let simmer until warmed through.

Once the squash is cool enough to touch, use a fork to scrape the flesh out of the skin and into a bowl. The squash should resemble spaghetti noodles. 

Combine the squash with the ground turkey and marinara sauce. Serve while still warm. 

This was a light, tasty new take on spaghetti and meat sauce, and a meal the whole family enjoyed. We served it with a kale salad and warm dinner rolls. It was a great way to sneak more produce into a meal. Give it a try next time you're looking to cut pasta out of your meal.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew