Health
Healthy Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Casserole
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By Rachel F. Johnson
Casseroles are not only warm and comforting, but they can be nutritional powerhouses for busy weeknight meals. In one dish, you have a full meal with a mixture of carbs, fat and protein ready to be devoured! I made this Mexican casserole in about 20 minutes of active, covered it and stuck it in the fridge. On one of my late nights home from school, Joe uncovered it and stuck it in the oven. The timer went off about 5 minutes after I walked in the door and we sat down to enjoy this meal. I’m very happy to report that this casserole completely exceeded our expectations! It was cheesy, warm and the flavors blended perfectly together! Hope you like it as much as we did!
Serves 4-6
1 medium spaghetti squash
2 oz (1/4 cup) fat free cream cheese
½ – ¾ cup Salsa of choice
1 cup fiesta blend shredded cheese
2 chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1. Preheat oven to 400. Being extremely careful, slice spaghetti squash in half length-wise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds in the middle and discard. Place spaghetti squash flesh-side down in a large pan filled with about 2 inches of water. Cover tightly with foil and allow to steam for about 45 minutes, until squash is tender.
2. While Spaghetti Squash is steaming, place the chicken in a pan, sprinkle with pepper and bake in the same oven for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
3. Remove chicken and squash from oven. Remove foil from squash pan and, using a fork, move squash to pan with chicken. Allow squash to cool for a few minutes while you rinse out the large pan and get it ready for the casserole to go straight in. You can now open and rinse the beans and dice the chicken breasts as well.
4. Now comes the fun part! Using a fork, scrape the inside of the spaghetti squash and it comes out in long strands, just like spaghetti! (Note: How cool is God’s imagination to make something like this!?) Place all of the shreddings in the large pan.
5. In a small bowl, microwave the cream cheese and salsa in 45 second intervals, until cream cheese has melted and easily mixes with the salsa. Pour on top of spaghetti squash and mix it together. Top with ¼ cup shredded cheese, diced chicken breasts, ½ cup more cheese, black beans and the last ¼ cup shredded cheese.
6. You can cover and store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for a later meal! If refrigerated, simply reheat in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. If frozen, I would allow it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Feel free to top with nonfat Greek yogurt, onions, salsa or avocado and you can serve with whole wheat tortillas, if desired. Also, a note to parents: This is a great way to get your kids to eat their vegetables!
One more note for everybody: One of my goals in writing these recipes is that other people will not only enjoy reading them, but enjoy eating them! I could make a million “healthy” recipes, but if no one would eat it, what good have I done? So, I’m asking for your help. If you have any recipe requests or suggestions, feel free to let me know! You can E-mail me at [email protected] or comment anywhere on my food blog at www.racheleatsalot.wordpress.com. Also, if there is a favorite recipe of yours that you would like redone a bit lighter, feel free to send it to me and I will do the best that I can! Living healthy is a passion of mine and I love being able to share a little bit of this passion with all of you each week!
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