Spaghetti Squash & Jalapeño Casserole Recipe
PIN IT!This…this spaghetti squash & jalapeño casserole recipe will now only be referred to as “spaghetti squash heaven.” Because, guys, there’s just no better way to describe it.
Spaghetti squash is one of those things I absolutely just love to eat. Like butter, pumpkin and butternut squash, I just smile like a weirdo in the back of the bus whenenver I’m about to consume it. I don’t know why, either. Maybe it’s because it’s 700% better for you than regular pasta. Or maybe because it has about 50 calories per cup. I think that might be it. Given I’m still trying to lose those last 20 pounds (only 15 to go! please shoot me).
I’ve had spaghetti squash a bunch of ways. With spicy marinara, with Italian seasoning and slathered in pesto. Those were good, but this is IT. It’s creamy, cheesy, spicy, crunchy. Every texture you could possible want in one dish is all up in this bowl in front of you.
Have you ever had one of those dishes baking away where your whole house was filled with the best smells you’ve ever smelt? And you literally sat right next to the stove in hard anticipation, waiting, waiting for the ding to go off so you can rush to pull your heavenly dish out? Where you have to actually TALK YOURSELF OUT of just face planting into said masterpiece? That is what happened yesterday. Yesterday, as I pulled this bubbly, cheesy, spicy spelling delicacy out of the oven, I LOATHED being a food blogger.
For the simple reason that I didn’t want to wait to eat. I didn’t want to have to photograph this perfect dish, smell it’s heavenly aroma and drool, LITERALLY, as I snapped away. Y’all should feel lucky. I was .2 seconds away from face bathing in this jalapeno casserole and then I’d have nothing to share with you.
Well, that’s not true. I would probably instead blog about how I have no idea how on earth I gained 5 pounds overnight since I only ate just a little bit of spaghetti squash for dinner.
Spaghetti Squash & Jalapeño Casserole Recipe
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves about 7. Recipe adapted from Sunset.
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 2.5 pound spaghetti squash, cut in half and seeded
- 1 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 1/4 cup light cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 jalapeños, chopped and seeded
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, part-skim
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, part-skim
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeños
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
Directions:
- Grease a 2 – 3 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place spaghetti squash flesh side down in a glass baking dish. Fill the dish up 1/2 way with water (or until the squash’s flesh is submerged). Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, or until squash is soft to the touch. Let cool.
- When squash has cooled, use a fork to remove the spaghetti like strands. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium size pan over medium high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In another large sauce pan, heat milk, cream and chopped jalapeños in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 5 minutes, or until mixture is fragrant and thickening. Add in spaghetti squash and shallots and garlic, mix well to cover in the milk mixture. Add salt and pepper. Let cook another 2 – 3 minutes. Then, add cheese, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well to mix.
- Pour spaghetti squash mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons jalapeños and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until bubbly and top is golden brown.
Nutritional information per serving (1/2 cup):
Calories: 185
Fat: 8 grams
Carbohydrates: 14.5 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 7.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 4
Gluten-free Almond Pumpkin Pear Bread Recipe
I’m pretty sure I had an alien encounter last night. But, before we get to that, I need to share with you my new favorite bread. Ever. I’m serious. This gluten-free almond pumpkin pear bread recipe (try saying that 5x fast) is the best I’ve ever made.
So, um, back to my encounter. You see, I’ve taken to watching the entire first season of X-Files every night. Before you say “oh crazy Claire, you’re clearly having a bad dream” let me finish. So, last night, I woke up at like 12:30. My phone was flashing (no notifications, just flashing) and Oscar was whining at the door. So, with trepidation, I looked around and noticed that my windows were GLOWING. Like, glowing in the dark. THEN I looked up and saw a giant X on my cieling. I’m fairly certain that had I not gotten up, ran to the bathroom, flipped the light switch on and screamed, I would have been adbucted and probed for the next 20 years.
Now, I realize the probability of my so called experience is slim to none. BUT. I’m sticking to it. Therefore, tonight I’m sleeping with all the lights on and a knife under my pillow. That’s how you kill aliens, right? Or a stake?
Before you write me off and call authorities to take me to the looney bin, I’ll change subjects to something less….out-there. Pumpkin bread! Not just any pumpkin bread either. Pumpkin bread made WITHOUT gluten. I was so inspired by my gluten-free baking triumph with the pumpkin muffins, I decided to try my luck again with a quick baked bread. Sticking with the pumpkin theme (It’s fall, IT IS!) I decided to add in more of my favorite fall produce. So, I chopped up some pears and tossed them into the mix too.
Because I’m a nut, I also decided to add some GF almond flour in there, to give it a nutty flavor. (I’m a nut, nutty flavor, get it? get it?) The end result was better than I could have EVER imagined! So moist and dense with an amazing pumpkin pie aroma and flavor. But that’s not all. You also get a hint of the baked pear and each bite has the perfect aftertaste of roasted almonds. It’s the BEST fall bread and pairs so wonderfully with coffee. If you wanted to, you could also sprinkle some toasted little nuts on top of the bread while it bakes for a crunchy crust.
I simply topped mine with a sliver of butter and gobbled it right up in 3 seconds. Now, please excuse me while I google “alien proofing your home” and “how to fight off an alien abduction.” Thank god I work from home. Could you imagine explaining that search to your company’s prying IT folks?
Gluten-free Almond Pumpkin Pear Bread
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields about 9 slices. Recipe inspired by The Gluten-free Goddess.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 – 52 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free almond extract
- 2 tablespoons pear juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons GF pumpkin pie mix
- 2/3 cup chopped pears
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie mix. Add oil, extract, eggs, honey, pear juice and pumpkin puree and mix well. Stir in pears.
- Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 – 52 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve.
Nutritional information per slice:
Calories: 202
Fat: 6.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 35 grams
Fiber: 1.5 grams
Protein: 4.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 6
My Love Letter to Food
In 30 seconds it hit me. I finally knew what I wanted to spend the rest of my perfectly imperfect life doing. Like the familiar ding of an oven timer or the horrific first beep of an unwelcome alarm, I was jolted to life.
I’ll write. I’ll finally pursue the thing every single person I’ve ever met told me to do. I’ll do the thing I spent countless hours doing as a misguided youth. As a girl born with a pen in her hand, you’d think this revelation was easy. You’d think I’d have known I would write since I started. Oh, just how perfect that would be. But life, with all her personality and spunk, she certainly ain’t perfect.
I bet you’re wondering “what does this have to do with food?” fair question. I mean, this is a food blog. The answer is simple, really. No long winded explanations or diatribes for you here. Food brought me back to life. If it wasn’t for my discovery of the incredible wonder of food, I wouldn’t be here, typing this post with tears rushing down my face.
You see, I haven’t always had a wonderful life. Like George in the beloved Christmas movie, it took nearly throwing myself into a freezing river to find it. I have a dark and stormy past. One I’m not ready to tell you about because simply, I’m not strong enough to face it yet. I’ve dealt with events no person should ever deal with and each day I’m welcomed with a sad reminder of them. Like a shadow looming in the blurry, dim lit corner, I’m always being followed by my past. A girl I’m so thankful I was but am so scared to become again. Besides being a few shades of screwed up, I’m also strong. I learned that life was never going to just hand you a rope when you’re about to fall backwards off a cliff. Life is going to help you figure out how to climb back up to the top, on your own. Life, she may be cruel, but she’s nothing but fair. Even in those days where my only solace was found in a bottle of libations, I learned the only way I’d ever find my way back to sanity was to be strong. And because of that strength I got through college and found myself a little fish in a big ass pond in the corporate world of Washington DC.
Even after my first big girl paycheck and happy hour with colleagues, I knew I wasn’t happy. Days, months, years passed by as I continued my robotic existence into work, knowing each second I spent there was choking my insides. Then, something happened. I started this blog in November of 2009 and found a purpose. Then, in 2010, I started cooking and taking photos of my food. That day my first food post went live (oh god those photos) was the day I knew things were going to change. And here I am, three years later and I’m still counting every blessing that I found it. You see, it had always been food, all along, it just took nearly two years of depression to fall back head over heels in love with it.
Discovering flavors and ingredients gave me something to look forward to, something to restimulate my jaded mind. But it was the writing about food that awakened me. That unlocked my casket and gave me life. Each word I typed, I felt stronger. Smarter. Happier. Writing and discovering food showed me something. It showed me I could be happy.
So, 3 years pass and here I am. I left that awful job and found a new one I couldn’t love more if I tried. Every second I’m awake I want to pinch myself. And despite my articles, my experiences, my successful blog, I still never truly felt like a writer. That was until I sat down last Monday night, exasperated from traveling. I had a red eye the night before and had spent the past 5 hours diligently working. However, despite my exhaustion and stress, I looked at my computer screen, and opened word. Like a flash of lighting, it struck me. After 8 hours of traveling, 5+ hours of writing and cooking, I still wanted to write. I still wanted to pour my heart onto a blank page. So I did. I sat in the dark, hours past my bedtime and I wrote. All done with an almost creepy, menical smile. Even with lead eyelids, I had to write.
It was then I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. A writer. A food writer, a travel writer, a poem and story writer. In 30 seconds I finally knew what I couldn’t wait to do for the next billion of seconds left in my life. And you know what I owe all of this to? My happily ever after? Who to thank for my life changing realization? Why, food of course. This nutrient that is necessary for life gave me something, a chance for my own happily ever after.
Now that, my friends, is what you call a true foodie.
Claire
Tags:accomplishing goals, food, how to set goals, life goal setting, life goals, love letter to food, writing
Skinny Bitch Tuesdays: Vegetarian Pot Pie Recipe
Y’all, there’s something you need to know. Something horrible, embarrasing, shameful. A secret I’ve been hiding from you. A secret that will make me look like a phony Southern (3 years counts) cook. Until today, I’ve never made a pot pie.
To most people, that’s not a big deal. But to me? The queen (I say so) of healthy comfort food HAS NEVER MADE A FLIPPING POT PIE. I’ve eaten them, time and time again, but until this very am, I hadn’t sautéed the vegetables, added milk and watched the filling bubble in front of me. Never whipped up a simple, flakey crust and watched it bake to golden perfection. Because I’m the novice pot pier, I was nervous the whole thing would go to shit. Well, feast your eyes friends, FEAST THEM onto the bubbly, golden brown, decadent looking leeeeettttle pie in front of you. FEAST.
Let me tell you, friends, mastering the pot pie has left me feeling like I can CONQUER ANYTHING. Run a marathon? Sure, why not! Clean my house? Ain’t no thang! Poach 10 eggs and make 10 breads from scratch? Forggett abouttt it. The world is my oyster and I will PRY IT OPEN with fury.
Okay. well, maybe I got a little carried away. But learning how to master simple, comfort food classics is important to me. But what’s more important is finding was to lighten them up so they still taste good and Paula would eat them. Now that she’s all skinny and stuff, I’m sure she wouldn’t eat her melted butter mayo pot pies. So, skinny pot pie to the rescue! Plus, it’s even cuter served up in mini crocettes.
Now that my Southern roots have been restored and I’m no longer shelving this horrible secret, we can talk about another thing I’ve been hiding from you. Well, maybe that can wait until next week. Let the anticipation simmer for a bit.
Vegetarian Pot Pie Recipe
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Serves 2. Recipe adapted from Skinny Bitch.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 – 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- About 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 small red pepper, chopped
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons AP flour
- 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 3/4 cup Bisquick mix
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon 1% milk
- 1 egg
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack to the center of the oven. Grease two mini crocettes (or ramekins) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Heat butter in a large, 3-quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add in garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Heat vegetables for about 4 minutes, or until soft. Stir in flour with a spoon until the vegetables are coated. Cook another 2 minutes. Carefully add in broth and milk. Reduce heat to low and simmer until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add in salt, pepper and oregano and stir to mix. Remove from heat.
- Scoop the vegetable mixture into the crocettes.
- In a medium bowl, mix Bisquick, egg and milk together until combined. Scoop biscuit topping onto each crocette, until the vegetable mixture is fully covered.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Enjoy!
Nutritional information per 1 crocette:
Calories: 361
Fat: 15.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 39 grams
Fiber: 4 grams
Protein: 12 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 9
Pork Chops Recipe with Strawberry Basil Compote
Happy Labor day, y’all! Having a fabulous day off? Since I work for myself and took a vacation last week, I’ll be glued to the computer all day. But, it’s raining so it’s fine 🙂 Now, since most of y’all are amazing planners who’ve had your entire Labor Day picnic menu planned out on Pinterest for months, you probably don’t need inspiration for a main course. But, I made you one anyway. And to all those last minute planners (like me), I’ve taken the stress out of your day. I’d like you to meet my dear friend, pork chops with strawberry basil compote.
These chops were absolutely mouth-watering. Oh and they smelled like pure heaven. There’s really no better pairing than savory pork and sweet, tangy fruit. Oh, and clearly, there’s bacon too. Pork two ways!
You could prepare these in a number of ways. Grill, bake, steam. I chose to go the healthiest route, aka, frying in a tablespoon of bacon fat. Whoops 🙂 Because the pork is higher in fat, I chose to pair it with a super low-calorie and healthy topping, strawberry compote! There’s just 50 calories per cup of strawberries, plus they are loaded with antioxidants that help reduce cancer risks, fight inflammatory disorders AND help lower blood pressure. Just think of the berries as pork’s skinny jeans or their slimming black wrap dress.
This is the perfect “sayonara” summer meal. Full of plump, tart strawberries and citrus, it’s one last seasonal meal before it’s time to trade in the berries for apples and the flip flops for boots. And really, it has bacon. and bacon fat. Why wouldn’t you want to eat it?
FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE, GO HERE ON SHEKNOWS.COM!
Nutritional information per 5 ounce pork chop with 1 tablespoon compote:
Calories: 520
Fat: 25 grams
Carbohydrates: 7 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Protein: 32 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 10
Claire
Tags:bacon recipes, gluten-free recipes, healthy recipes, pork chop recipes, strawberry recipes
