TexMex Spaghetti Squash

A friend saw a post I’d made on Facebook about playing with spaghetti squash recipes. He got excited and asked another friend to share the following recipe with me. I’ve done my best to recreate the dish from the notes I was given, and write it all up in a recipe format to share with readers.

Raymond’s TexMex Spaghetti Squash Bake

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash (2-3 lbs), rendered
1 lb ground beef or turkey
12 oz frozen chopped spinach
12 oz frozen cauliflower
1 medium onion, diced
Chili seasonings (chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic, oregano to taste)
15 oz can of black beans, drained
8 oz can of Ro-tel
8 oz Neufchatel or cream cheese
2-4 oz shredded cheddar or cheddar jack

Split the squash into halves. Remove the seeds and seed membranes. Spray the open areas of the squash with a light coating of olive oil. Place face down on a plate and microwave in five minute increments until the whole squash is softened. Scrape the insides of the squash out into a bowl and reserve.

In a large skillet, add a dollop of olive oil and diced onion. Cook until onion begins to clarify. Add the meat to brown and allow to crumble as if for tacos. Drain the meat if needed.

At any time after this point, if the mixture becomes too voluminous, move it into an oven safe pot or dutch oven and continue.

Add the spinach and cauliflower. Sprinkle the spices into the mixture. Fold into the meat and onion mixture and allow to cook until veggies soften.

When the meat and veggies are browned to taste, add the drained beans and can of Ro-tel.

Slice up the cream cheese and fold it into the mixture. Continue to mix until all ingredients are well integrated.

If you are still in the skillet at this point, move the mixture into an oven safe pot or dutch oven.

Fold in the squash gently. Sprinkle a layer of grated cheese over the top of the mixture and place in preheated oven.

Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, additional shredded cheese, corn ships and/or tortillas, as desired.

Due to a lack of a conventional oven in my kitchen at the moment, I fell back on my trusty crock-pot to try this recipe out. It turned out to be a good way to go, with excellent results.

Crock-pot Variation

Set up your crock pot with either a liner or olive oil spray.

Diced onion.

 

 

Add diced onion and Ro-tel. Allow to cook on high for 2 hours or until onion begins to clarify.

Spinach, Ro-tel, and cauliflower added. Isn’t this colorful?

 

 

 

 

Add spinach, cauliflower, and spices. Stir gently. Continue to cook for 2 hours on high.

 

 

All the spices for a good chili.

 

Add browned and drained ground beef. Drain beans and add. Stir gently.

Allow to cook for 1 hour on high. Taste test and adjust spices as needed.

Add cream cheese.

 

Slice cream cheese and lay in on top of the current mixture to soften. Stir into pot. Add about a third of the grated cheese and stir.

 

 

Add spaghetti squash and fold gently into the mixture.

 

Smoothed mixture will look something like this.

 

Smooth out the top of the mixture. Spread remaining shredded cheese evenly over top. Allow this to continue to cook on medium for at least half an hour or until all the cheese is melted.

Cheese!

 

Finished cooking.

¡Sabroso!

–Ann Cathey

Quick Casserole Meals

Remember all those casseroles your grandmother used to whip up in her sun-filled kitchen? She was on to something with those one-dish sides and meals. You can be, too.

Most casseroles include a starch (potatoes, pasta, or rice) as a base, veggies, meat, and some cheese. It all depends on what’s on hand or what you prefer.

Here’s a basic casserole that my family enjoys once every couple of weeks. While I have had to put a strong low-carb rule in place, you may not have to.

Ingredients:
2 cups dry rice, cooked
12 oz concentrated cream of something soup (potato, chicken, mushroom, etc.)
1/2 cup fluid (milk, heavy cream, chicken broth, etc.)
1/4 cup hard cheese, fine grated (Asiago, Romano, Parmesan, etc.)
15 oz can of beans or peas, well drained
Other veggies as desired, pre-cooked and diced (potato, carrot, green beans, etc)
8 oz meat, diced or broken
Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
4 oz shredded cheese, any firm type (cheddar, Swiss, Provolone, Gouda, etc)

In a large bowl, place rice, soup, fluid, veggies, spices, and hard cheese. Fold together gently so as not to break up the veggies.

I will also fold in the meat at this time. You may choose to layer it in the baking dish.

Place the contents of the bowl into a baking dish, spreading it evenly. If you are layering the meat in, put it between two layers of the rice mixture so it doesn’t dry out during baking.

Sprinkle a couple of ounces of shredded cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Everything in the dish is precooked, but you want it to heat throughout.

Remove dish from the oven and uncover. sprinkle on remaining grated cheese. Allow to sit for five minutes or so while the cheese melts and the dish comes to a reasonable serving temperature.

When emplating, feel free to toss on strips of fresh basil, more cheese, chopped parsley or whatever topping you desire. A dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream is also tasty.

Leftovers can and do add a lot of variation to this meal. A teaspoon of sour cream left from taco night? Throw it in! Some shredded mozzarella left from pizza night? Stir that into the mix to create a gooier texture. Black olives? Mushrooms? Broccoli crowns? The more the merrier!

Want an Italian flavor? Use Italian spices, Italian sausage and or pepperoni with a mix of mozzarella and provolone shredded on top. A white or navy bean works well for the added texture. Serve with garlic bread or bread sticks.

Tex-mex more to your liking? Add chili powder and onions, black beans and use Monterrey Jack or pepper-jack cheeses. Top with sliced jalapeno or salsa.

Cajun Crazy? Try andouille or boudan, Ementhaler, and Cajun seasonings (We like Tony Cha’s) with diced bell pepper and onion.

The ham and cheese option is also nice. Use cheddar, leftover ham, and black-eyed peas for a southern variation.

In short, this dish can be customized pretty much any way that pleases your palate. It’s also hearty enough to put leftovers into microwavable containers for tomorrow’s lunch, or for a side dish later in the week. Just heat and serve.

Bon Appetite!

— Ann Cathey

Food Porn 4

As has been previously noted, writing about food can work up a great appetite, but looking at food can make your stomach complain that you are not paying it any attention.

This time around, we are taking a peek into my daughter’s kitchen, and my own. My daughter has a lovely home garden that is sometimes restricted to a side porch, but more often spills out into her back yard.

Home Grown Mint

Baked Cheesecake

Scratch made cookie dough

Creamy Chicken Casserole with Biscuit Crust

Creamy Chicken Casserole emplated

Quiche with roasted carrots and asparagus

— Ann Cathey