Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies

This is the recipe I was telling y'all about yesterday. It is very easy, and both healthy and yummy which is always a good thing in my book.

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef & Veggies

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
• 1 pound lean ground beef/sirloin
• ½ cup diced green bell pepper
• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ¼ cup diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 ¼ cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice the spaghetti squash in half, and place "meat" side down into a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Fill the dish half full of water and place in the microwave for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, take a fork and rake it along the squash to remove all of the pulp, place in a bowl and set aside.
4. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in the green pepper, red pepper, red onion, and garlic.
5. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
6. Mix the shredded squash and tomatoes into the skillet, and season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
7. Cook and stir until heated through.
8. Remove skillet from heat, and mix in 2 cups cheese until melted.
9. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
10. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and continue baking 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings.

If you use the Weight Watchers shredded cheese (or something similiar in calorie/fat content), then each serving of this casserole is only 4 points!

Enjoy!

Show Us Your Life - Dinner Recipes

I was looking for a recipe to cook for dinner last night. Lately, I feel like I've been in a rut. I don't feel like cooking and if I do - its the same thing over and over. So, with the weather getting cooler this week (its starting to feel like fall). I asked Darren if he would mind soup for dinner and of course - he said go for it (he could eat soup every day of his life). So, I searched www.allrecipes.com and came up with the following soup.

Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups beef broth
• ½ cup red wine
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• ½ tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1½ cups sliced zucchini
• 8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage.
2. Remove sausage and drain.
3. Sauté onions and garlic in drippings.
4. Stir in beef broth, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage.
5. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.
7. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

I changed it just a tad. I ran by the store and got everything on my way home and was so hungry when I got there, that I started making this right away. I didn't exactly follow the directions - after I cooked the sausage, onions and garlic, I just kind of threw everything in the pot! I mean, isn't that how soup making goes? Oh, and it was delicious. I got a little carried away and I think I added way more than what the recipe called for because I had 5 QUARTS of piping hot soup on my stove last night. I topped it with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and it was wonderful. Next time, I will make sure I have a loaf of crusty bread to soak up some of that broth! Enjoy!