I seem to have a hang-up on spaghetti squash recently! It’s tasty and filling and I’m collecting recipes that my family is enjoying in spite of the squash.
This is a quick and fairly simple recipe that can be baked up in either the oven or a crock pot. As ever, you may alter it to suit your own tastes. There are no hard and fast rules here.
Italian Style Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 small to medium spaghetti squash
1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
1 – 40 oz package of frozen meatballs, or the equivalent home-made
1 – bottle or can spaghetti sauce, your choice of flavor/style
4-8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
12 oz mozzarella, sliced
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
Garlic, basil, oregano, and other additional spices to taste
In the crock pot, place the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, mushrooms and additional spices. Stir well and put the crock on medium heat.
Render the squash. Fold the stringy meat into the sauce, making sure that the squash is well coated.
Add a dusting of Parmesan on top of the squash mixture.
Place meatballs in crock, distributing evenly across the other ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
Open the crock and arrange the slices of mozzarella across the top of the dish. Re-cover and cook on high for 2 more hours.
Serve with an additional dusting of Parmesan and a side of garlic bread.
–Ann Cathey
thewanderingtexans 