Mmmmmm kugel! Now what is kugel you may ask? It is a baked Jewish pudding or casserole made from egg noodles or potatoes. They serve it as a side dish for many Jewish holidays. I was first introduced to it by my husband because he is Jewish. They can be made either sweet or savory, but I much prefer the sweet! Yum! When I first heard of a sweetened noodle dish with cream cheese and/or cottage cheese baked with lots of butter and eggs, I thought hmmmm am I going to like this? Surprisingly, I did! It just seemed strange at the time to have sugar with my noodles, but it was pretty tasty!
Here is a lightened up version! This recipe uses spaghetti squash in place of egg noodles and adds Stevia, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cream cheese, eggs, and cottage cheese to the dish. It is a whole lot healthier than any of the other versions I ate in the past, but yet it doesn't skimp on taste. This yummy dish can also be a dessert. Yes, a veggie as a dessert! How about that! You could also eat this for breakfast! In the next day or so, I will be posting a savory version of this dish so be on the look out for that one! It is a great way to use up your spaghetti squash and makes a wonderful side dish! Enjoy!
Mock Sweet Kugel
(Spaghetti Squash)
(Spaghetti Squash)
Ingredients:
6 cups (465 g) spaghetti squash strands, cooked (12 Greens)
8 packets stevia or sweetener of choice (8 Condiments)
1 tsp cinnamon (2 Condiments)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (1/2 Condiment)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (1/2 Condiment)
1/8 tsp salt (1/2 Condiment)
1 tsp vanilla extract (1 Condiment)
1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese, softened (2 Healthy Fats)
2 whole eggs plus 4 egg whites (1 Leaner)
1 1/2 cups 2% cottage cheese (1 Leaner)
1 1/2 cups 2% cottage cheese (1 Leaner)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and goop with a spoon. Place both halves, cut side down, in a shallow baking pan and bake about 40 min to 50 min until tender. Cool slightly. Use a fork to scrape out the strands from the spaghetti squash. Place squash strands in a large bowl. Measure out 6 cups and place in a medium bowl. Reserve the rest for another use.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, cream cheese, eggs and cottage cheese in a blender. Blend until smooth. Stir mixture with spaghetti squash. Pour contents into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Makes 4 Servings
Each serving provides
1/2 Leaner, 3 Greens, 3 Condiments, and 1/2 Healthy Fat
1/2 Leaner, 3 Greens, 3 Condiments, and 1/2 Healthy Fat
Serve with 1/2 a Lean such as:
2.5 ounces beef (lean category), 3 ounces of chicken plus 1/2 Healthy Fat (leaner category), 3.5 ounces cod plus 1 Healthy Fat (leanest category)
Want to have this as a small dessert? Portion it out into 8 servings with each serving counting as 1/4 Leaner, 1 1/2 Greens, 1 1/2 Condiments and 1/4 Healthy Fat.
