New Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

This was an excellent dish, a bit indulgent with the cheese yet I also felt good about my veggie intake. Next time I'll make it a bit more healthy by using a low or non fat ricotta and I maybe try Parmesan on top instead. This dish was easy, quick and best of all it can be made a head and baked last minute so it was perfect for that unknown dinner time when hubby is working late.  The original recipe came from RealSimple.  I get emails from them, maybe weekly and this made it worth signing up.   The only change I made was to reduce the cheese to 1 C. vs 2 and I used Jack instead of Mozzarella since it was what I had on hand.  My squash may have been a bit smaller than 3 lb. but not much and it was simply because it was what I could find.  Shoot for as close to 3 as you can get.  I served it with Chicken Piccata which also worked out well because once I browned it I kept it warm in the oven till he showed up and since I had to take it out to heat up the squash I placed it back in for about 10 minutes to warm it as I made the piccata sauce.

Chicken breasts are on sale through Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015 at Sprouts for $1.99 lb.  Great deal so stock up.  They were huge breasts so I pounded them all flat, one made three cutlets.  Then I wrapped the others individually in plastic wrap, froze them and then put the frozen breasts in a zip top bag.  Now defrosting will be quicker and the messy part is already done making it easier to make a dish next time that requires me to pound them flat.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH LASAGNA
3 lb. spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, roasted
Drizzle EVOO
Kosher salt
Coarse ground black pepper
15 oz. tub ricotta
1 egg
4 C. baby spinach, chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
⅛ t. ground nutmeg
½ t. Kosher salt
¼ t. coarse black pepper
1 C. jack cheese

Heat oven to 400°F.  Cut squash in half, lengthwise.  Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast, cut side down on a foil lined cookie sheet for 40-50 minutes.  Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine, ricotta, egg, chopped spinach, grated garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Mix.  Let squash cool enough to handle and scrape out squash with a fork, adding to bowl.  Mix gently to combine.  Grease a 8x8" pan, pour mixture into baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake until browned and bubbling 20 minutes.