Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Marinara

A few weeks ago I made a huge pot of marinara sauce.  I've been getting a little annoyed by the high sodium levels in a lot of the jarred sauces on the market and the prevalence of ingredients I'd never heard of.  So I decided to make my own.  I buy canned tomatoes that have the lowest sodium content I can find (no sodium added? yes please! now I can season it myself!).  I used some of that sauce to cover a delicious braciole.  The rest of the sauce got frozen for use at a later time.  I pulled out about 6 cups of sauce for this yesterday and let it thaw overnight (because that was the smallest container I had in the freezer...).

We also bought some spaghetti squash at the public market and so I decided to make spaghetti squash marinara.  I had something similar to this once when we were out to dinner and loved it.  That was actually the first time I'd ever eaten spaghetti squash, which makes tonight's dinner the second.  :)

I hacked into these squashes with a large chefs knife.  I really had to work to get them to cut in half (was wishing I had a hack saw or an axe at various points...).  In the end I succeeded and scooped out the seeds and roasted the squash.  A delicious meal.  Would've been vegan if I hadn't added the cheese at the end... oh delicious, delicious cheese... :)

The spaghetti squash was similar to angel hair to me.  Definitely delicious.  And incredibly healthy!  You can eat a lot more squash than pasta for a lot fewer calories.  We ate most of this squash with probably one serving left over... although Jeremy might be polishing that off in a little while if the first serving doesn't keep him full.

Picture courtesy of Jeremy.  His bowl right before he dug in. 

The squash right after they came out of the oven (except for the fact that I turned them over...)

Spaghetti squash:
2 3 lb. spaghetti squashes (or 1 large... a few small...)
salt
pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the squash in half (This is kind of tough... be very careful.  You can also roast them whole (there are directions all over the internet -- prick the squash with a knife first) but it will take longer.  I wanted to get the seeds out before I roasted them... so I had to cut them in half.).  Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
2. Season each cut side with a pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil (probably 1 tbs. total among all the squash halves).  Brush the oil over the cut sides.
3. Place the squash cut side down on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
4. Roast for approximately 45 minutes until the squash can be pierced easily with a fork (exact time will depend on the size of your squash(es).
5. Allow to cool until cool enough to handle.  Use a fork to scrape the flesh into strands.
6.  Mix into a couple of cups of the marinara sauce (recipe follows).  Heat through.  Serve with some freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Marinara:
1/4 c. olive oil
4 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
4 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 c. dry white wine
2 medium yellow onions, diced finely (about 1 1/2 c. diced)
6-8 cloves garlic (between 1/3 and 1/2 c. minced -- I love garlic)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
2 medium carrots, grated
1-2 tbs. sugar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
5-6 basil leaves, minced
1 large handful flat-leaf parsley, minced

1. Heat olive oil in a very large soup pot over medium heat.  Add crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine.  Add onions and garlic and a pinch of salt and sweat (not saute... use a lower heat so they don't brown) for 7-9 minutes until very soft.
2.  Add carrots and tomato paste and stir to combine.  Cook for an additional minute or two.  Add wine and scrape the bottom of the pan.  Add crushed and diced tomatoes, salt, black pepper, basil, and parsley.  Add desired amount of sugar (the carrots add some sweetness so you may not need sugar if you're happy with how it tastes.  I added 1 tbs.)
3.  Simmer for approximately 45 minutes until flavors combine.  Use/freeze as desired.

Spicy Chili-Veggie Mac-n-Cheese

I love mac-n-cheese.  We don't eat it very often (because it's not very healthy...) but when we do have it I try to include some veggies so it isn't quite so bad.  I also cut out the heavy cream/half and half that a lot of recipes call for and use skim milk (sometimes a combination of milk and chicken stock).

I also love sloths.  I accidentally uploaded this picture that I found online before... and decided to leave it.  Don't you just love that face?

I recently bought a huge butternut squash (5 lbs!).  I diced and roasted all of it and used some in a butternut squash risotto last week (which was also delicious... Just a regular risotto with the roasted squash mixed in toward the end).  I had some left over and so I mixed that into the cheese sauce for this meal.  It was delicious.

This didn't taste like squash.  The cheese sauce was really creamy and rich without being overly fatty.  A perfect compromise. The yellow squash made the sauce look even more cheesy than it was.  If I hadn't put the peppers and onions in here, it probably would've been next to impossible to tell that there was veggie in it.  :)

I cooked the onions and peppers earlier in the day when I didn't feel like doing much else.  Then it was a snap to bring everything else together at dinner-time.

I thought this had a decent amount of spice in it.  But of course Jeremy didn't think it was spicy.  Maybe I shouldn't let him eat the raw chile tops that I cut off... might be getting him too used to eating chiles.  Not that it's really a problem.

We had a salad to go with this so that we added some extra veggies and cut down on the amount of cheese we ate at one meal.  We didn't end up finishing the whole dish of mac-n-cheese.  We probably have another 2 servings in the fridge for another meal.

The whole lovely casserole dish. 

My serving... my eyes are bigger than my stomach.  I ate probably half of that and Jeremy ended up finishing it (along with his serving that was larger than this to begin with).  He really liked this mac-n-cheese. 

Recipe:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 c. butternut squash, diced and roasted*
chile peppers, minced (amount up to you, to taste)**
1 box (13.25 oz) whole wheat elbows (or whatever pasta you want)
7 oz. sharp cheddar, grated, divided
4 oz. parmesan, grated (approximately 1/2 c.), divided
2 tbs. margarine
2 tbs. AP flour
2 c. skim milk
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. parsley flakes, divided
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat 1 tbs. olive oil in a large skillet.  Saute bell peppers, onion, and chili peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper until tender, 5-7 minutes.  Set aside.
2. Blend squash and milk (in a blender or food processor) until smooth.
3. Mix breadcrumbs, 1/4 c. cheddar, 2 tbs. parmesan, and 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes.  Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add salt (about 1 tsp.).  Cook pasta just shy of cooked (it will finish in the oven).  Drain and set aside.
3. While the water is coming to a boil, melt margarine in a medium saute pan.  Add flour and whisk until smooth.  Cook for 30 seconds until bubbly.  Add squash mixture and mix well.  Add chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, and cayenne.  Add parmesan and cheddar in small handfuls and whisk until incorporated (make sure each handful is fully melted in before adding the next).  Season with salt and pepper to taste (I added probably 1/4 tsp. pepper and 1/2 tsp. salt).
4. Combine pasta, pepper/onions, and sauce and mix well.  Pour mixture into an oven-safe casserole dish.  Top evenly with the breadcrumb mixture.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes (uncovered) until lightly brown on the top.

* If you don't have pre-roasted squash, roast the squash as directed below approximately 1 hour before you're ready to begin making the mac-n-cheese.  That way it has time to cool before you blend it.

Directions to roast squash: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel and dice the butternut squash.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with 1-2 tbs. vegetable oil and sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper.  Mix to combine.  Roast for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.  (Time will depend on the size of the dice.)

** I used 5 chile peppers from a mixed variety we bought at the public market.  I don't know what peppers I used... although looking at pictures makes me think I had 1 chile de arbol, 3 numex twilights (from what I can guess from looking at pictures), and 1 that was longer and green-yellow-orange (absolutely no idea...).  You can use jalapenos or whatever mix of peppers you like.  You could go with none... but then it wouldn't be spicy.  Or you could substitute by putting more cayenne pepper or hot sauce into the cheese sauce.