Sandy's Kitchen: mspaghetti

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Here is the recipe for the savory version of mock kugel or spaghetti squash casserole. I wish I would have made this side dish sooner. I am really loving the spaghetti squash. Could it be because I have been having too much cauliflower so that I am tired of it? Nah... I am just digging the taste of the squash. Between the sweet and savory kugel, I just can not decide which is better! I really like both of them and the flavors were just so different! I enjoyed eating the sweet one for breakfast because it reminds me so much of sweetened oatmeal, but the savory one is delicious for dinner or lunch paired with your favorite choice of meat or even egg beaters! Why not try them both if you have some spaghetti squash to spare! Enjoy this great side dish!

Mock Savory Kugel (Spaghetti Squash)

Ingredients:

3 cups Spaghetti Squash, cooked (6 Greens)

1/2 cup Egg Beaters (1/4 Lean)

3/4 cup 2% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese, divided (3/4 Lean)
1/4 tsp Salt (1 Condiment)
1/8 tsp Black Pepper (1/4 Condiment)

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 cup Onion, chopped (4 Condiments)

1 tbsp light butter (1 Healthy Fat)

Directions:

Cook spaghetti squash by microwave or by oven. Here is a spaghetti squash tutorial if you never made spaghetti squash before using the microwave. You can also bake it by slicing the squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds and strings. Place both halves, cut side down, in a shallow baking pan and bake about 30 minutes until tender at 350 degrees. Cool slightly. Use a fork to scrape all the flesh out of the spaghetti squash. Place squash flesh in a large bowl. Measure 3 cups or 465 grams of spaghetti squash and place in a medium bowl. Reserve the rest for another use.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat and melt butter. Add chopped onions and cook until onions are translucent.

Combine cooked onions, spaghetti squash, egg beaters, 1/2 cup of cheese, salt pepper, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Stir until mixed thoroughly. Pour contents into prepared casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup of cheese to the top of casserole. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let set for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Don't forget to add 1/2 of a lean to complete your lean and green meal!

2 Servings with 1/2 Lean, 3 Greens, 3 Condiments and 1/2 a Healthy Fat per Serving

*Note: If you do not want to add cheese, then you will need to add 7/8 of a lean to your lean and green meal. Examples are 6.12 oz of fish or shrimp, 5.25 oz of chicken, or 4.37 oz of beef or pork.

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Sandy's Kitchen

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)

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)

1/8 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)

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

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.

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Sandy's Kitchen

This was my first time making spaghetti squash. I bought it, left it in the fridge, and kept postponing making it because I had never made it before. Unfortunately, it did go bad. Yes, this huge veggie intimidated me! I am not sure because of it's size or just because of the fact that I never tried it, nonetheless, prepared it before. So, I finally got the courage to make it and followed Lyn's tutorial from Escape from Obesity on how to make it in the microwave. Check out her inspirational blog! She has lost over 100 lbs! Definitely, a blog worth reading!

The spaghetti squash was so easy to make! A few pokes here and there, microwave, slice in half, scoop the seeds, scrape the insides and Voila! Spaghetti that is actually Medifast friendly! I love the taste of it and now I can kick myself in the butt for not having tried it sooner! I think I would eat this instead of spaghetti pasta noodles even if I wasn't on MF. Hubby hasn't tried it yet either (we are both clueless) and will be trying it when he gets back this summer. I can't wait!

As for the recipe, I was going to use Jennie-O Italian Turkey Sausage, but the sodium content is so high. Nutrition Support doesn't recommend any type of sausage because of the sodium content, but 2 sausages fits the lean criteria. This sausage does contain 1700 mg of sodium (Gasp!). We should have below 2,000 mg for all our meals and lean and green included. I still have this sausage occasionally just because I love sausage, but I will be sure to have something with a lot less sodium for the next few days.

I decided to try to make my own Italian Sausage and found this recipe from the new Medifast Lean and Green Meal Cook Book. It is actually called "Italian Sausage Patties" but I converted it to just ground Italian sausage. I meant to make them into meatballs, but it slipped my mind and before you know it, I was browning the meat. Feel free to shape them into meatballs for a yummy spaghetti and meatball dish! Serve with Walden Farms Marinara sauce. Sometimes I like to eat meatballs without the sauce and sprinkle a little bit of parmesan cheese, especially if you do not like Walden Farms products. Enjoy!

Italian Turkey Sausage with Spaghetti Squash

Slightly adapted from Medifast Lean and Green Meal Cook Book

Ingredients:

17 1/2 oz raw, ground turkey, 93% lean - should yield 10 oz cooked servings (2 Leans)

1/2 tsp oregano (1 condiment)

1 tsp basil (1 condiment)

1 tsp fennel seeds (2 condiments)

1/2 cup Walden Farms Marinara Sauce (2 condiments)

3 cups or 465 grams cooked spaghetti squash (6 greens)

Directions:

Combine ground turkey, spices, and garlic in a medium skillet. Brown meat mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally to break the meat mixture into crumbles. Once the meat mixture is browned, drain the fat and return the cook meat mixture back to skillet. Add the marinara sauce and stir until well blended over medium heat. Serve over spaghetti squash.

Servings: 2 Complete Lean and Green Meals with 3 Condiments No healthy fat required

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Spaghetti Squash

I followed Lyn's Spaghetti Squash tutorial on how to make spaghetti squash because I am a newbie and I had no clue how to cook it. Never even heard of the squash. Not to mention how intimidating it looked when I first laid eyes on it because it was so big! I overcooked mine the first time so it got a little mushy, but now I know better. Start off by poking 8 to 10 holes on each side (front and back) of the spaghetti squash. I did four holes toward the bottom half, two in the center, and four towards the top half. I turned the squash over and poked 8 to 10 more holes. The easiest way to do this is by using a metal skewer and just jabbing that thing in there. Poor squash! I felt like I was stabbing it to death. Just remember 8 to 10 holes, don't get carried away if you are frustrated that day LOL.

I used a metal skewer. It made it so much easier!

8 to 10 holes on each side is all you need.

Then place the squash on a plate inside the microwave. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Turn the squash over and microwave for another 4 minutes. If needed, turn the squash over and cook for 4 more minutes. Depending on the size of your squash, your cooking times will vary. A large squash will take about 12 to 14 min to cook while a small squash will take about 8 to 10 min. It is done when you can jab a fork into it. It should be tender and not mushy. Do I see a trend here with the jabbing?