Quick/Easy, Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce!

I love marinara sauce.

Actually, I love all kinds of sauces.

 

I'm the type of person who likes her sauce to spaghetti ratio 5 to 1.

No lie, I eat spaghetti as if it were soup. #sorrynotsorry

Monday at work I was trying to think of something I could make for dinner and Spaghetti Squash popped into my head. I knew the Fruit Stand by my house, Po Folks, had them for a really good price and a bottle of marinara sauce is super cheap.

 

Quick, easy & cheap? You can't go wrong with that!

Oh and it's delicious... I forgot to mention that.

 

Normally, I go for plain sauce and spaghetti squash "noodles" but since I knew I was going to be working out right before I wanted to add some protein to refuel after the workout.
 

After I made this I realized how truly simple it was. It's the perfect meal to make if you are super busy or trying to make something good in bulk. The spaghetti squash took about 30-45 minutes to bake. So during that time I worked out and by the time I was done, so was my squash. While the squash cooled I took a shower. By the time I was done, my squash had cooled and I was ready to scrape the "noodles" into a bowl -- voilà -- multitasking!
 

Good choice on my part!
 

Ingredients:

1 large Spaghetti Squash

1.5 pounds Lean Ground Beef [fat drained]

1.5 jars Prego Fresh Mushroom Marinara Sauce

4 Roma Tomatoes [chopped]

6-8 leaves fresh Basil [chopped]

1 TBSP Olive Oil

2 TBSP Garlic Salt
1 TBSP Onion Powder

1-2 TBSP Italian Seasoning

Salt and Pepper [to taste]

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes [optional]

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut Spaghetti Squash long ways, or "hot dog style", and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until tender enough to pierce with a fork. Once Squash has cooled begin scraping the "spaghetti" with a fork into a large bowl. Check out my other post for more step by step details on scraping the "spaghetti" out.
*P.S. I highly recommend making more than you will eat that night. I cooked 2 large Spaghetti Squash at once so I could freeze to eat later when I am on the go! Because the process takes so long I was so glad I made more ahead of time!

2. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with Olive Oil. When the meat is almost thoroughly cooked [with little to no pink] add the chopped Roma tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes start to shrink and are tender.

As you can see there is a clear divide here. Peter's area is the left hand side, and mine is the right...

2. After all of the meat has been thoroughly cooked and the tomatoes become tender, drain the fat from the skillet and return the meat and tomatoes to the skillet.

3. Next, pour in 1.5 jars of marinara sauce, seasoning + fresh basil. [I used the Fresh Mushroom flavor from Prego because I love mushrooms!] Simmer on Medium/High heat for about 5-7 minutes. Stirring every so often.
*Be careful -- the sauce will bubble and you do not want to get that stuff on you!
4. Once the meat sauce comes to a simmer and is bubbling consistently it is read to be devoured!

5. To serve place 1 large cup Spaghetti Squash + pour meat sauce on top + garnish with fresh basil and crushed red pepper flakes for some spice!

Bon appetit!

I am obsessed with this meal now and it is my go to meal from now on -- especially since I have so much left over Spaghetti Squash. I am definitely going to be making this more often + it was such a crowd pleaser. My Dad, who is my biggest critic, ate the sauce over 2 pieces of garlic bread. He said it was to quote him "out the box good!" and he kept telling my Mom to try the sauce! [say that in an Italian family New Jersey accent].

So I was excited this quick meal turned out to be so dang good! : )

P.S. If you do not like tomatoes [like Peter... I feel sorry for you ; ) ] you can nix those all together.
Personally my favorite kind of marinara sauce, is the kind that bite into chunks of tomatoes -- that's when you know it's fresh! Also, ground turkey would be amazing in here in place of the ground beef!Also if you want to be like Peter and eat it with real spaghetti noodles -- you can do that too -- this sauce is good on anything!

If you make this in bulk [which I highly recommend] the sauce will freeze very well -- which is perfect if you're like me and you need a grab and go meal + are sometimes too busy to cook!

See you guys soon!

Have a fit + fantastic day!

Strands Café | A Hidden Baton Rouge Gem

I've recently become obsessed with random adventures.

And poor Peter, always gets wrangled into them.

 

The day after Fourth of July [the same day as our Fifth of July Celebration], I picked him up and we headed to the Farmer's Market early... That day at the market was just.. ahh -- if I could get away with sitting on the curb all day, munching on free samples of cheese//random assortments of olive oils, and not look like a complete weirdo, I'd do it.

But, like the song says, "We can't always get what we want!" Nope.

 

Since it was the first of the month, The Baton Rouge Arts Market was in full force on 5th and Main Downtown. As we made our way down the second block [that was completely preoccupied with different artists] a young guy handed us a flyer and told us to head over to Strands Café after the market. I let him give us his "spill" about there specials, coffee, pastries and chocolate, then he said "brunch"... and I was in.

 

Meanwhile, Peter was not in my head and had no idea I was concocting a plan to extend our morning at the Farmer's Market, indefinitely. We headed to the car with our haul from the Market and I told him about the surprise I had in store. He, thinking it was going to be something actually "surprise worthy", got excited and started guessing. I then realized that he and I had two totally different ideas when it comes to surprises, mine always involves food.

 

So after lots, lots, lots of coaxing and almost abandoning him in the hot car, he decided to come with me to go on "an adventure" as I kept saying.

To be honest I had no idea what this place was going to look like, or what kind of food they actually had because I tuned the guy out after he said brunch [woops...] because I was already drooling.

 

When we walked in I immediately felt like I was somewhere else. The atmosphere was so... so.. different than anything else I've been in in Baton Rouge that I didn't want to leave. I wanted to sit there and try every thing on their menu.

 

Especially the chocolate... but it was not even 10 yet and eating mass amount of chocolate before 10AM is frowned upon... I think.

OH, the chocolate. I knew, from the flyer, that they would have "fine pastries and chocolate" but I had no idea it would be like this. I don't even know if you can call this stuff chocolate... this is art!  

Oh and did I mention that the second we walked in we heard a kid scream "THIS WAFFLE IS AMAZING -- YUM" at the top of his lungs? Yeah, so if that didn't scream, we made the right decision then well... I don't know.

When we walked up to the counter we were greeted with a smile by the same guy that had handed us the flyer. I was definitely glad we decided to go because I knew it made him happy that he actually pulled some customers in by standing there on the street corner... which takes loads of courage to do [props to him]. I told him to tell me everything they had because I was up for anything! He started telling me about there pastries, waffles and chocolate. Everything sounded amazing, but I was on the brunch train and I wasn't stopping until I reached brunchville.

Then, he said Provolone, Prosciutto Croissant and I stopped him mid sentence [which I kind of feel bad about now...] and told him I didn't have to hear anything else -- I wanted that.

Of course, Peter boycotted ordering because he was in the boycotting mood. So I ordered and paid my $4 and sat down to enjoy the atmosphere.
It was absolutely beautiful. The light coming in from the front windows, the gorgeous color of the wood + everything reflecting off one another. I wanted to move in.

Whomever decorated this place did so incredibly. Everything was placed perfectly and seemed like it was supposed to be there. My favorite part of the café may have been the brick wall.

It was amazing.
Peter was so embarrassed of my picture taking and he kept repeating "you're one of those people, Morgan -- you're being one of those people..."

Yup, I was that person snapping pictures of everything and I loved it.

Then, when I thought it couldn't get any better, they brought out my croissant.

I'm 99% sure that I shed a small tear... of joy. 

 

The prosciutto and cheese was perfect and complimented each other extremely well. We took it Togo because we needed to run by the store to start prepping dinner for that night. But when we got to the car Peter snuck a few bites... yes, a few, and he even said it was good. Told ya Peter!

Moral of this rant of a post... I'll be back [Arnold Schwarzenegger voice] to Strands Café. And moral of the other story, adventures are always fun -- even if someone complains the whole time... [ehm... Peter..]

 

Strands Café is located on 226 Laurel Street, in downtown Baton Rouge! They are open Tuesday - Friday 7:30AM - 4:00PM and Saturdays 8:00AM - 12PM. They also have tons of lunch options that already have my mouth watering... including Crab Cake Salad, Bacon Rum Roasted Chicken Sandwiches, Spinach Frittatas and tons more!

 

If you're looking for somewhere to escape to and enjoy some delicious treats, Strands will not disappoint.

 

 

Have a fit + fantastic day everyone!

Enjoy the day -- go on an adventure!