Monday Meals: Southwestern Spaghetti Squash Casserole

It's been a while since we've done a blog for our vegetarian/vegan followers- so here you go! The Wisconsin Test Kitchen has been making a lot of recipes lately with spaghetti squash. It's a great substitute for pasta (don't get us wrong; we love pasta- this is just a healthier alternative, and a great way to get vegetables into our diet) and it's delicious. The smallest member of our test kitchen also loves it- which is an added bonus.

We've made this recipe a few times; and it continues to be one of our favorite preparations. The jalapeno adds a nice level of heat, the cheese makes it feel indulgent... the recipe just works on a lot of levels. Also, we're able to customize it to the tastes of our little one. She prefers her spaghetti squash mixed with black beans and red pepper, with a little mozzarella cheese melted on top. We take some of the spaghetti squash, mix it with the above ingredients, top it with cheese and microwave it for a few seconds to get the cheese to melt. Easiest (and healthiest) dinner ever.

Ingredients
 1 spaghetti squash
 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
 1/2 red onion, chopped
 3 garlic cloves, minced
 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (leave seeds in for more heat)
 1 red bell pepper, chopped
 1 Tbs. ground cumin
 1 Tbs. Mexican oregano
 1 Tbs. chili powder
 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
 coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
 1/2 cup freshly torn cilantro, plus more for garnish
 1 lime
 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

Roast squash on a baking sheet for 50 minutes. Let cool, then cut in half. Spoon out the seeds, then using a fork, scrape up the flesh, making the “spaghetti.”

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper and red bell pepper. Sautee for 2 minutes. Add cumin, Mexican oregano, chili powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Sautee for another minute. Add the beans, corn and cilantro. Stir to combine. Squeeze in the lime juice and give one last stir.

Add the “spaghetti” to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season accordingly.

Switch oven to broil.

Stuff each squash half with the mixture and top with grated cheese.

Stick it back under the broiler until the cheese melts and gets all brown and bubbly.

Garnish with a little bit of cilantro and serve.

Recipe courtesy of www.bevcooks.com

Notes from the Test Kitchen

-While it's cute to stuff the spaghetti squash mixture back into the squash shells; it's just as easy to prepare the meal in a Dutch oven or oven proof dish, and pop it into the oven and broil it that way. The choice is entirely yours.

-Upon further inspection, we realized our tiny chef was really onto something; the recipe tasted better topped with mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar. Of course vegans will want to skip this step all together; but the cheese does add a little something extra... like cheese tends to do.

We know spaghetti squash looks daunting; but it's easy to prepare and it's a great, healthy meal for your family. We hope you enjoy this one as much as we do!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew