Quinoa Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Food

STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brush the inside of the spaghetti squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place cut-side down on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack until squash is easily pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat and cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bell pepper. Cook and stir until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and basil, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.
• Remove spaghetti squash from oven, cool slightly, and shred the cooked squash into spaghetti-like strands. Place strands in a bowl. Add bell pepper mixture, goat cheese, salt, and black pepper and mix until well combined. Spoon mixture back into the squash halves. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and butter cubes.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is bubbly and bread crumbs are browned, about 15 minutes.

QUINOA-STUFFED ROASTED SQUASH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 15x10x1-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Cut each squash lengthwise in half; remove seeds and fibers. Cut 1/8-inch slice from bottom of each half so squash will sit flat in step 4. Place squash, cut sides down, in pan; bake 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat quinoa and broth to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
• In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions, garlic and sage in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are crisp-tender; remove from heat. Add cranberries; stir until coated. Stir in cooked quinoa and all remaining ingredients except parsley until blended.
• Remove squash from oven; turn squash, cut sides up. Divide quinoa mixture evenly among squash halves, pressing down on filling to form slight mound over cavity. Cover loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes longer or until squash is tender and filling is thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with parsley.

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.

QUINOA STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Cut squash in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds & drizzle with a small bit of olive oil. Place on foil lined roasting pan & bake for 1 hour. It should be tender when poked with a knife or fork.
• Saute onion in a 2TB olive oil. Add garlic, oregano & a pinch of salt. When soft, add quinoa & vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer & cook, covered about 15 minutes. Stir in raisins & let sit, covered.
• Toast pignoli nuts in a dry skillet. Set aside.
• When squash is cooked, scrape the strands into a LARGE bowl. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper. Add cooked quinoa & toasted pignoli nuts, toss to combine. Add vinaigrette, toss to combine. Refill squash halves or put in a casserole dish & keep warm in oven until ready to serve.

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.

QUINOA STUFFING

Steps:

• Bring vegetable stock to a boil in a saucepan, reduce heat to low, and stir in quinoa. Cover pan and simmer until quinoa absorbs the liquid, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir butternut squash and zucchinis in the hot oil until slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir quinoa into the vegetables and gently mix green onions, apricots, cranberries, and parsley into the stuffing. Drizzle with lime juice to taste.

STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH QUINOA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Halve the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds and score the flesh with a sharp knife.
• Arrange the two halves on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil, season with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, sprinkle with dried oregano and cook for 40 minutes. Take out the oven, add the chopped peppers to the tray alongside the squash and cook for a further 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile mix the rest of the ingredients. Take the tray out of the oven and carefully transfer the peppers to the stuffing mix. Stir together and spoon the filling onto the butternut squash. Return to the oven for 10 mins. Serve.