Spaghetti Squash: two variations

I decided to try a recipe that RRR had emailed me awhile back saying, "This might be a good idea for lunch". So last Sunday, I took a crack at Weight Watchers' recipe for Italian Turkey and Spaghetti Squash Pie.

The recipe is on the link above and I made a few tiny adjustments. For what is basically their version of a bechamel sauce (ricotta plus an egg) I added a generous helping of thyme. Instead of the olive oil, I used my trusty nonstick cooking spray since it seemed a bit unnecessary for this dish. And you might say that no self-respecting cook would use a fat free mozzarella but in this instance, it melted quite nicely and took on the flavor of the sauce. I think you don't use enough cheese for it to get rubbery.

Unfortunately for me, I underestimated the size of my dish and the amount of "spaghetti" that my squash would yield. As I was layering (squash, then ricotta mixture, then sauce, then cheese) I wound up with a holy mess. The sauce leaked over the sides of the pan and I had to cook it with a baking sheet underneath to catch the dripping sauce. Lucky for me, taste and aesthetics don't always go hand in hand and I wound up with a flavorful hearty lunch that I rounded out with a small mesclun salad.

This experiment led to this week's slight variation of the same recipe. Instead of a lasagna-type dish, I went for a simpler squash with a chunky Bolognese-type sauce. Spaghetti squash is in abundance at my local market (sadly, acorn and butternut squash aren't looking so great) so I decided to give it another go, but with a few minor adjustments.

I started by halving a spaghetti squash, scooping out the seeds and pulp, then placing it cut side down in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. I added a bit of water to the bottom of the dish, but it's not completely necessary.

While that was cooking, I began to brown 1 1/2 lbs of ground turkey. While that was draining, I sauteed half an onion and 3 small cloves of garlic. On a whim, I grated into the onion and garlic one small carrot to add a bit of sweetness to the sauce. The turkey went back into the pan and was joined by a jar of Nanina's marinara sauce (a gift from my Aunt) and a large can of diced tomatoes.

To this mixture I added: chicken stock, some generous squeezes from my tube of tomato paste, fresh nutmeg, thyme, Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and two bay leaves. I let that simmer for a good twenty minutes and then removed the bay leaf.

While the sauce was simmering, the squash became cool enough to handle. I took a fork and basically raked the inside of the squash and placed the spaghetti-like strands of squash into a bowl.

Once that was done, a heaping scoop of squash, some of the hearty, tasty sauce, a sprinkling of grated cheese and in no time I was enjoying a low calorie version of a typical Italian Sunday meal... and without the post meal carb coma!

Busy Week from Hell made Real Simple!

This past week and a half at work has been insanely busy. Late nights and high stress do not lend themselves to eating well or eating right.

In anticipation of this hectic time, I chose two recipes from Real Simple that I could quickly prepare in advance to make my lunch a pleasant experience.

My first recipe was salt and pepper shrimp with Thai fried rice. Just about all of the ingredients were pantry staples, I had frozen shrimp in the freezer and there was some nice long grain brown rice on sale at the supermarket. Easy! The recipe (on the link above) was pretty simple to execute, however, I omitted the chorizo to save myself a few calories.

When the dish was complete and I was getting ready to pack it up in my Tupperware, I decided to mix the shrimp in with the rice to save some space in my work fridge. It looked beautiful and tasted great! I didn't find it as filling as I had hoped however, so perhaps the chorizo would had made it a more satisfying meal.


The week had taken a lot out of me (and it's not over yet) and I was really in need of some comfort food. That being said, for my second recipe I chose the turkey and roasted red pepper meat loaf in this month's issue of Real Simple. The magazine's been sitting unread on my table all week, so not only was it quick and handy but also gave my cookbooks a rest.

Chopping the onions and red peppers were the most labor intensive part of this dish but once you got past that it was a breeze. As I was mixing the meat, I could smell the herby goodness of the parsley and the zest of the dijon mustard. As the meat was resting on my cutting board, I realized that I accidentally omitted the Parmesan cheese called for in the recipe. After giving the meat a little taste, I can see where they were going with the cheese but I think it came out just fine without it.

So now I have a delicious satisfying lunch to look forward to next week. Hopefully I'll have the time to enjoy it!