Spaghetti Squash Bake

If you've never tried a spaghetti squash, this recipe would be a great opportunity to try it.  We really like it.  It is not an exact substitution for real pasta, but if you're having a calorie counting fest it works great! I have gotten very serious about my calorie counting lately.  Go here for a step by step on how to cook spaghetti squash!

I lightened up my recipe for baked spaghetti and made this.  All four of us eaters really enjoyed this and then I had enough leftover to eat for lunch the rest of the week!  This recipe would be super simple to make vegetarian.




Spaghetti Squash Bake1 large or 2 small spaghetti squash (you need about 7 c. shredded squash, give or take a cup)
2 Tb margerine, melted ( I used Smart Balance Light, no trans fat and low cal)
1 egg beaten
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic

4 oz light cream cheese, softened (I used neufchatel cheese)
2 c. 2% milk cottage cheese
1/2 c. sour cream
dash of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
1 c. mozzarella

3 c. marinara sauce (I made my own, a jar would be just fine)
1 lb turkey Italian sausage (I used spicy)

To cook the spaghetti squash there's a couple options.  1. Stab a few holes in it and cook it whole in the microwave 8-10 minutes, or until the skin is soft. Then cut it in half, scoop out seeds and use a fork to collect the "spaghetti." OR 2. Cut it in half (be careful), scoop out the seeds and bake upside down in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until you can use a fork to get the "spaghetti" to rake up.

Preheat oven to 350.  Let cooked spaghetti squash sit in a colander for a few minutes to get any excess water to drain out.  Mix the squash with the melted spread, parmesan cheese, beaten egg, salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Spread the squash mixture in the bottom of a 9x13' pan.  In a separate bowl mix together the cream cheese cottage cheese, sour cream, salt & pepper.  Spread the cheese mixture over the squash.  Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of that.  Then, mix together the marinara sauce and sausage and spread over the top of everything.  Bake the casserole for 30-35 minutes or until it's bubbly and hot.  Remove from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before cutting.  Serve with garlic bread (You're eating all veggies!  Splurge on the garlic bread.)

* I added up all the calories in the entire thing and 1/9th of this recipe has only 250 calories!