Pizza Squash

I've made a goal for myself to keep this blog going more often. I only like to post mostly homemade dishes, and for a while Dan and I were throwing together some pretty basic meals that weren't exactly blog worthy. We both have pretty busy schedules, though mine is quieter right now with no cheerleading in the spring season. Dan works 4 nights a week, and though I wish he was home with me to have dinner, it's also a good time for me to try new recipes with ingredients that he's not so fond of.

Tonight is one of those times where I made something that he would never eat...spaghetti squash. I've used spaghetti squash a few times, and it's a great substitute for pasta in a dish and can be topped with most anything. It's so easy to prepare as well. I roasted mine when I got home from work in the afternoon, let it cool for about 35 minutes so I could handle it to shred the insides out. Then made the dish. Easy as that.

I got the recipe from a Vegan cooking blog, but adapted it to my liking, which is not vegan. If you check out the original recipe, it calls for vegan sausage, so this recipe is great for any vegans out there as well. My recipe makes a boatload of this stuff, so if you like leftovers, then you can freeze it and whatnot, but if not, I would scale it in half (other than the squash).

Pizza Squash
adapted from veganyackattack.com

1 spaghetti squash
1 lb. ground turkey (I used italian seasoned turkey)
4 cups (or 2 cans) diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small can of sliced olives
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar (or whatever you like)
Any pizza toppings you like

1. Start by roasting your squash. Preheat oven to 375. Clean the squash and cut in half. Clean out the seeds and pulp. Spray a baking dish and the tops of the squash with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Place cut side down on the greased baking dish and poke holes in the rind with a fork. Bake for 40 minutes or until flesh is tender.

2. In a large skillet, brown and crumble the turkey, until there is no pink left in the meat.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and cook over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and green peppers (or add peppers sooner if you want them softer). Stir and cook 1 minutes. Add italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes.
4. Scrape out the flesh of the squash (save shells) into the sausage mix and stir to combine. Cook 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of each cheese, black olives, and pepperonis. Stir and cook 1 minute longer.
5. Spoon into empty squash shells and eat!

Any pizza toppings would be great with this. I really want to try it with a little but of sauce, pineapple, ham and feta!