Vegan Recipe Gold!

A few nights ago I was running out of ideas for dinner so I turned to my friends via Facebook for recipe ideas. Heather and I went back and forth. She suggested recipe after recipe because a lot of the dishes she suggested I already cooked. This went on for 38 comments until she struck vegan recipe gold!  She suggested a Greek Spaghetti Squash recipe. The recipe she suggested was vegetarian because of the feta cheese so I omitted it and put my own spin on it. I added basil to the tomato sauce and capers. I love the salty taste of capers.

  I've made spaghetti squash one before so I knew Keithon would love it. Last time I only picked up 2 small squash and Keithon and I almost killed each other or the leftovers, so this time I grabbed 1 large squash maybe a little too big, it came in at a whooping 3 pounds! ( We still have leftovers) I season it lightly with salt and pepper before putting it in the oven.

 While the squash was in the oven I set my sights on the sauce. I love the bright colors of tomatoes and basil.

Once the squash is cooled. I "spaghettied" it by pulling it from the shell with a fork. It is amazing that a vegetable can come off in strands.

 After all the squash was off the shell I made a well in middle and poured the sauce, capers and olives and mixed them well. I had to make the well because I had more squash than I made sauce for and I wanted to make sure it was mixed well.

 Needless to say this dish went over well and Keithon went in for seconds. He may have gone back for thirds there was so much left I couldn't tell. This is also a dish I feel good about giving my child because it is a whole food. We don't eat a lot of mock meats but sadly we do carb load and that's my fault, so I love when I can make a meal where you don't miss the starches.

Greek Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti Squash

1 onion, diced small

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 tomatoes, diced

2 Tbsp chopped  basil

1/2 cup chopped black olives, sliced

parsley, for serving

1 Tbsp chopped capers  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Cut squash lengthwise and remove seeds from each half. Place facedown on rimmed cookie sheet, sprayed with cooking oil. Bake for 45 minutes. 
2. In the meantime, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tomato, basil and sauté until softened. 
3. When squash is finished, pull out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, flip squash over and scrape insides of each half with a fork. Little spaghetti-like strands will easily come off the squash. 
4. Stir squash with sautéed onion and tomato mix. Add capers and olives. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy

Veganize This!

  I love when I see non vegan recipes on Facebook, why you ask because it gives me the chance to veganize it and show my Facebook friends that I can eat the same things they do, with a few modifactions of course. A few weeks ago my friend Misti posted a recipe of Spahetti Squash Lasagna Boats on Facebook and my comment was "Now you know I have to veganize this!" Sunday I went to find the recipe on her wall and it was nowhere to be found but never fear she found it and posted it to my wall. A lot of recipes on facebook are Pinterest posts and what not but this recipe comes from Gina Homolka, the creater of the website Skinny Tastes. She takes recipes that she finds and makes them Weight Watcher's friendly. She even has a section of Meatless Monday dishes!!!

  This recipe is pretty easy to veganize. All I had to do was sub the sausage for Tofurky and the cheese with Dayia. When I made the dish I use my trusty Tofu as ricotta mixture but after having it on the dish I decided it was better without it. See also I've never had Spaghetti Squash before because I don't like regular Squash but Spaghetti Squash has won me over. I love it because it is crunchy instead of mushy. I can't wait to try this veggie in different recipes. This dish is a little time consuming so plan ahead before making it or just use the microwave like I did. I never use my microwave to cook things but today I gave it a go because I was pressed for time. I.E. Keithon was hungry. ( We only use the microwave to defrost things. I'm surpised the damn thing still works, its almost 8 years old and cover in rhinestones) I also included a link to the Omni Version just so you can see the orginal and check out her other recipes.

Spaghetti Squash Sausage Lasagna Boats

Ingredients:

2 medium spaghetti squash
salt and fresh pepper, to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley (or basil)
3/4 cup Dayia mozzarella cheese

For the sauce:

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tofurky Italian sausage (chopped into small pieces)
14 oz (1/2 can) crushed tomatoes
salt and fresh pepper, to taste
2 tbsp chopped basil
1 Bay leaf

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds and membrane. Season lightly with salt and black pepper; bake about 1 hour, or longer if needed on a baking sheet, cut side down. 
If you prefer the microwave, cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and fibers and place on a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave 8-9 minutes or until soft.

In a large deep sauté pan, heat oil and add onions and garlic; sauté on medium-low for about 3 to 4 minutes, until soft. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces until browned and cooked through. When cooked, add the crushed tomatoes and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add the bay leaf and cover, reducing heat to low. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, then add in fresh basil at the very end.

When spaghetti squash is cooked, let it cool for about 10 minutes keeping the oven on. If you microwaved this, preheat the oven to 400°F.When the spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to remove flesh, which will come out in spaghetti looking strands reserving the shells. Drain the squash on a paper towel to soak up any excess liquid, then toss with half of the sauce. Place the spaghetti squash back into the 4 shells and place on a baking sheet.

Top each with remaining sauce and 2 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese is melted.

  Keithon and I loved this dish. We almost had a Royal Rumble over the last one. Yes, I will fight my 10 year old over the last serving of food. Its how we roll. The brawl was averted we split the last one in half and lives were spared. I paired the boat with Garlicy Kale from Whole Foods deli which is my second favorite version of Kale. I would have made it myself but my food processor is broken and I have yet to replace it. So if you have avoided Spaghetti Squash like I have PLEASE try it. It is so different from normal squash and soooo good.