Day 140 Tips from a Spaghetti Squash Lover

Day 140

- Bratwurst on an oopsie roll with sauteed green peppers & onions, mustard and reduced sugar ketchup
- Swiss cheeseburger on an oopsie roll with romaine lettuce, tomato, purple onion, mayo, mustard and reduced sugar ketchup
- Low carb New York style cheesecake
- Meat sauce served over spaghetti squash noodles*

*I learned a little trick when I baked the spaghetti squash this time. Before, I was baking it a full hour, which were making the strands of squash more squash-like that noodle-like. This time, I only baked it for 45 mins at 350 degrees and it was soooo much better, texture-wise.

To bake spaghetti squash, wash it and cut it in half. Scoop out all the seeds inside. Place rind-side-up on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes and scoop out "noodles" with a fork. This is a fantastic pasta alternative. I even like them better than traditional noodles because they are kind of sweet and just awesome tasting. They are awesome with both tomato sauces and also Alfredo or other white sauces.

If the rind starts to get brown while baking , be sure to pull it because that means it's actually on the over-done side, so pull the pan!

Low Carb Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Casserole

(This low carb recipe was inspired by this recipe for Italian spaghetti squash bake).

- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb sausage
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 1 whole green pepper, chopped
- 4 oz can mushrooms
- 2 cups Sugar free spaghetti sauce (I used Hunt's sugar free spaghetti sauce)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar (I used colby-jack)
- 2 eggs
- Nonstick cooking spray

Cut squash in half and scrape out seeds. Bake, cut-side down, on a cookie sheet for about an hour at 375 degrees. In the meantime, brown ground beef, sausage, onions, green peppers and mushrooms in large skillet or soup kettle. Drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce of your choice.

Let squash cool for about 20-30 mins and then scrape it out into long spaghetti strands, into a greased 9x12 casserole dished. Stir the eggs into the spaghetti squash. Mix squash together with your spaghetti sauce mixture and top with shredded cheddar and bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Wow, this is very good! My mom hates green peppers, but she loves this. I told her after she was raving about how good it was that I snuck a green pepper in.