SPAGHETTI SQUASH CASSEROLE

Ooh.. this is another one of our go-to recipes. It is quick and easy to make - which is PERFECT for a weeknight. Another bonus? You can toss in whatever you have in your vegetable drawer, so it is a good end-of-the-week fridge clean-out meal as well.

Below is what I've done, but honestly play around and customize it your taste.

Ingredients: 

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 lb or ~2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin (optional)
• 1/4 to 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 jalopeno, seed removed and chopped
• 1 red hot pepper, seed removed and chopped (note: I use hot peppers vs. bell peppers)
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 cup ricotta or 1/2 cup of cream cheese (I ran out of ricotta and used cream cheese, both are so delicious) 
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• ~1/8 to 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil (note: I used Oliv brand, Italian Herb)

note: the above are my preferences, you could remove spinach, add tomatoes, ect. however, I do recommend keeping with the onion and garlic. 

Directions:

• Pierce squash several times with a knife and put in microwave for 10-12 minutes, depending on size of squash, or until cooked (a sharp knife easily slides into squash)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Meanwhile, while squash is cooking, warm ~1 tbsp olive oil in pan on medium heat and add thinly sliced chicken. Cook chicken ~ 5 minutes on one side, then flip to cook on other side. Ensure chicken is cooked thoroughly, depending on size of slices may require more or less time. Note: may need to add additional olive oil as needed.
• To the pan with chicken, add the onion, peppers, garlic and basil; can add once you flip chicken. Cook vegetables until onion is soft. 
• Add spinach to pan last as requires only 1-2 minutes to soft and cook. 
• Once squash is cooked, cut in half, remove seeds, and scrape with fork until squash is completely removed and add to separate bowl. 
• Add ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, parsley, chicken, and cooked veggies to bowl with squash and mix together thoroughly. 
• Pour into a non-stick baking dish. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. 
• Place dish in oven until cheese is melted, usually ~5 minutes, then remove and serve. If you want to be fancy, remove from baking dish and place back in empty squash shells.
• No side dish is needed, although it is tasty with some garlic bread!