Fajita Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Food

FAJITA-STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Line rimmed baking pan with foil.
• Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds, and brush insides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut sides down in pan. Roast 35 to 40 minutes or until squash is tender. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop flesh into bowl, and reserve squash shells on lined pan.
• Meanwhile, heat 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook beef with chile and garlic 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; remove and reserve. Heat same skillet over medium heat, and add bell pepper and onions; cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is just starting to soften. Add beef mixture, squash flesh, taco seasoning mix and water to skillet. Cook until well blended and heated through, stirring frequently. Stir in cheese; spoon mixture back into squash shells.
• Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with tomato and avocado.

MEXICAN-INSPIRED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.
• Cut squash in 1/2 lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds. Add a few drops of oil to each 1/2 and spread using a pastry brush. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down in the prepared baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic in the hot oil until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Remove cooked squash from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Remove strands from squash using a fork or spoon and place them into a large bowl. Add black beans, sauteed veggies, 1/2 cup Mexican cheese, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper; mix well. Spoon mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Mexican cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with tomatoes, avocado, and olives. Serve immediately.

STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Steps:

• Pierce the squash along one side in a straight line. Don't poke holes all over. You are using the skin as a casserole dish and it will leak if you poke it all over.
• Microwave the squash about 8-10 minutes, high heat. To softish stage so you can scrape the flesh out later.
• Remove from microwave. Using the pierce marks, cut the squash in half so you have two long 'boats.' Cool.
• Brown meat; add garlic, onion, s&p and peppers. Cook until tenderish. Add Italian spice mix and canned tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes.
• If you are not using meat, sauté the veggies until tender, then continue adding spices and tomatoes.
• While it's simmering--spoon out the seedy portion of the squash and discard.
• Use a fork to scrape the spaghetti into strands. Put the strands into the sauce mix. Stir. Transfer back into boats, piling high! If you have too much, put the remainder into a greased dish.
• Place boats on an ovenproof pan with a lip so any juice will not drip onto oven.
• Sprinkle cheese of choice onto top. Bake, 350°F for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!
• You can of course use more or any veggies--add zucchini, mushrooms, etc. For a different flavor, add black olive slices, mix in 1/2 container of feta and sprinkle the remainder of feta on top. Or use parmesan on top.

STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH QUINOA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare the Spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half along the longitude line. Scrape out the seeds etc. Place cut side up in baking dish. You want them to sit upright and not tip over, cut the back flat if necessary. Smear insides with crushed garlic,drizzle with oil and salt to taste. Place in preheated oven while going to the next step.
• In a skillet, brown the beef with the onion. (optional -- you can add green pepper or other veggies at this step.) Add rinsed quinoa and continue to cook for about a minute then add the beef broth. Bring to a boil before reducing to low. Cover and cook about 15 min until mostly cooked through.When the quinoa is partially cooked but there still is an uncooked spot at the center, remove lid and continue to cook on medium until any extra broth has evaporated.
• While the beef/quinoa is cooking, put the tomato paste and diced tomatoes into a sauce pan. Add water and blend with the paste until the consistancy is that of pasta sauce. For me it was about 2/3rd cup. Simmer on the stove with italian spices and salt and other seasonings to your taste. You could also skip this step and substitute your favorite red pasta sauce.This made a scant 3 cups.
• Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta sauce and combine the rest with the beef/quinoa. Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Remove squash from the oven and fill with the stuffing. Note: You will probably only use half of the stuffing. Put the rest around the squash or you could double the squash to stretch to even more servings.
• Top with the reserved pasta sauce and if your diet allows you could add some parmesan cheese.
• Cooking time will depend on how cooked the squash got during the preparation time. I kept getting interrupted so mine was in the oven for over an hour. It was almost done cooking so I did not cover the dish but just cooked it long enough for the flavors to blend. When I tried this with raw squash it took well over an hour to cook.
• Cooked spaghetti squash is tender when pierced and the flesh shreds easily into "spaghetti" strands. Serve one half squash per person with additional pasta sauce if desired.
• I think this could easily be made in the crock pot. I will try it and post the cooking times.