Easy Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Still inspired by my meal at True Foods in AZ, I decided to re-create another dish (in addition to the soba noodle meal) – the Spaghetti Squash Casserole.

Here are some photos from my cooking adventure:

Halved

Seeds

Dish large enough to fit giant spaghetti squash – I used one of my baking dishes.

Into the microwave

Organic roma tomatoes

Making 1/2 the sauce from scratch

The rest of my sauce

Trader Giotto’s – get it?

Semi-homemade marinara

Getting my “spaghetti”

Into the sauce

All mixed up and into the baking dish

I used Trader Joe’s Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. I wanted fresh, but TJ’s was out.

Pre-baking

Post-baking

Dinner is served!

Man, this looked so much better served individually at True Food! Hmm…*mental note* get individual baking dishes once house ready.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole
by me
Serves 4-6

NOTE: I modeled the spaghetti squash cooking off of a Rachael Ray recipe. This tutorial by Simply Daily Recipes had some nice photos and information I found informative as a first time spaghetti squash cooker.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash, rinsed + (carefully) halved, seeds/etc removed
• water
• 5-6 organic roma tomatoes, seeded + chopped
• 1 small jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1-2 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced (or bag of shredded mozzarella)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine, optional
• salt + pepper to taste

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place squash in dish large enough to fit both halves, with halves cut side down. Fill dish 1/4 inch up to squash with water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave 13 minutes. Let rest a few minutes after cooking so you don’t burn your hands. Use a fork to pull the spaghetti from the squash shell. Place in sieve to drain until sauce is ready.
• Meanwhile, heat a medium pot over medium heat with olive oil. Add onions and saute 3-4 minutes till tender. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add roma tomatoes and cooked 4-5 minutes. Add wine and cook till liquid reduced. Add jar marinara sauce, top pot, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
• Add cooked spaghetti squash to the sauce and stir.
• Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Add spaghetti squash and sauce mixture to pan and flatten to even layer.
• Top dish with mozzarella.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.
• Serve with nice, hearty whole grain bread. Enjoy!