C – I didn’t expect this dish to take so long.
I blame Jim for having it take long. This dish should be quick and simple. If you are on a health kick like I am, it’s the perfect go-to dish that’s gluten free. I have already mentioned that I loved spaghetti squash as an alternative to noodles. But, I didn’t know if it was going to be good with tomato sauce.
I suggested it to Jim, thinking that it would take me no more than 30 minutes to make this dish … that is, until Jim suggested I make the tomato sauce from scratch. Luke made this great tomato sauce recipe from scratch a while back.
We had run out of our older sauce in the freezer. So, Jim wanted me to make another batch. He really wanted the stuff from scratch and scoffed at the idea of me buying any store bought stuff. He said he wouldn’t eat it. I wasn’t too happy with this idea.
My 30-minute cooking plan became a three hour recipe. Ugh … I had to cancel everything to make this simple recipe. Was it worth it? Yes …Yes it was.
I love making things from scratch. But, making this was daunting because I was feeling really lazy. I just wanted a quick recipe. But, it ended up being worth the time and effort. The spaghetti squash tasted great.
Crispy noodles with a nice fresh sauce. Not something that has been sitting on a store shelf for a few months or a year. I put some Italian sausage in the meat balls, and covered them in sauce with crispy vegetable noodles under. I was happy. When dinner was finally served, I was really happy.
| Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs |
- 1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds), cut in half lengthwise and seeded
- 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1 pound of sweet Italian pork sausage
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup plus more for garnish Parmesan Reggiano
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 pint of tomato sauce. Homemade or store bought.
- In a 5 quart pot, boil 2½ quarts of water. Add spaghetti squash and cook for 8 – 10 minutes, until strands pull from the sides of the shell to make “spaghetti” strands.
- Once cooked, remove from pot. With a fork pull strands from squash into a colander and drain.
- In a medium bowl, combine pork sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmesan Reggiano, egg and garlic. Mix well.
- Form into 2 inch balls.
- Heat a large saute pan with grapeseed oil. Add meatballs. Cooked until brown and cooked though. Remove meatballs and set aside. Remove any oil from pan.
- In the same saute pan, add tomato sauce and heat until boiling. Reduce heat to low. Add meatballs back in. Cook until warm and simmering.
- Place spaghetti squash on serving plates, divided equally into four. Add sauce and meatballs over top.
- Sprinkle Parmesan Reggiano.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
I loved everything about it. And, I love knowing there is lots of tomato sauce for me in the freezer waiting for this to be made again. Thanks, Jim, for asking me to make the tomato sauce. It made this dish even better than expected.
This combo was a great, easy, go-to meal … as long as you have the tomato sauce ready.