Guest Post: S to the 3rd Power {Otherwise known as Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti}

Happy Monday! Please allow me to introduce today's guest writer, the fabulous Chelsea. Hopefully, she'll want to come back and visit from time to time! Today she is going to share one of her favorite recipes with you.
-Leslie

{Sorry Chels, I just had to add a "nice-to-meet-you" picture}

As a kid, I remember going to Aunt Lisa's bootcamp or just passing through to visit, and hearing Aunt Lisa say, "I'll put on some spaghetti for dinner." And then thinking, "Yuuuuum." Maybe I should back up a bit and introduce myself.


My name is Chelsea, Les's cousin (making Aunt Lisa Les's momma). I am a 20-something aspiring shop girl who in the midst of trying to finish college also lives the life of a fashionista, chef, blogger, daughter, & friend. (Yes, that is my twitter profile, feel free to follow). Les asked me to guest post for her awhile ago and I've been conjuring up some good ideas for a post, wanting to make a good first impression to all you fine folks. So, here goes nothin'!


I love cooking. I love pasta. I also love my skinny jeans, therefore, pasta is few and far between for these lips. However, I stumbled across this recipe, put a few spins on it, and when I feel the pasta urge, I whip up this quick and easy meal. Let me introduce you to my new favorite food steal!

 

Step 1: Brown 1 lbs of ground beef with a generous sprinkling of onion flakes, oregano, garlic powder, and a dash of salt/pepper. I've found that if you season your meat really well according to the type of food you're cooking then it accents very nicely and adds a blast of flavor!

 While you're browning your meat, go ahead and put a small-medium spaghetti squash in a microwave safe bowl in for about 9-10 minutes. This softens the squash for easy prep work. 

 This is Lady, my mini-dachshund. She's my side-kick. Sorry, I couldn't help but snap a shot of her watching me cook. :)

 Step 3: Back to the meat, after you've completely browned your meat, drain off the excess liquid, and return back to skillet. This is where you can adjust to your preferences. Usually, I make my own marinara sauce but I was missing one ingredient so I had to settle for the packet mix. If that's your forte, go with the directions on the back. However, if you like to be adventurous, try this easy yummy marinara recipe:

Mince 3 cloves fresh garlic

Saute with 2 TBSP butter

Add 15oz can of crushed tomatoes

Add a generous sprinkling of oregano, garlic salt, and black pepper

Simmer til bubbles appear

Lower heat and add 1/4 heavy cream

Stir and let simmer for 10 minutes

Finely chop basil and top sauce before serving

 Sidenote: I also added diced zucchini into the sauce--I am obsessed with zucchini. I make a mean zucchini lasagna may have to share with you all sometime.

 Step 5: So I forgot to take a picture of how I got to here with the spaghetti squash, but it's so easy, y'all. All you do is grab the squash (may want to stick on an oven mitt, the squash will be hot), cut it right down the middle, scoop out the mushy in the middle with a fork and then start running your fork along the inside of the squash and spaghetti like noodles will fall out. I usually do this over the skillet so I don't dirty another bowl. 

Once it's all scooped out, spray non-stick cooking spray over the squash and season with salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic salt. Toss around til soften. 

 And viola! Yummy, healthy, and delicious Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti! 

Leslie, you should feel special. The only way I got Tucker (my brother and Leslie's cousin) to pose for this was by telling him it was for your blog. He was a good sport...

As you can tell, this meal gets a thumbs-up!

*this meal is meant for 2-3 people, adjust quantities according to dinner party size.