Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Spaghetti squash is a fantastic substitute for pasta, but sometimes you just get sick of eating it like pasta, no matter how many sauces you come up with. This recipe is another tasty use for this versatile vegetable.

*Serves 2-8* (Leftovers, anyone?)

Ingredients:
1 Large Spaghetti Squash
1 lb Ground Pork
6 Eggs (reduce as needed for desired texture; six eggs makes it quiche-like)
1 can Peas (approx 1.5 cups frozen)
1 can Carrots (fresh are fine too; boil first for desired softness)
1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
2 Tbsp Sage
1 Tbsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Paprika
Coarse salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a large knife, poke several holes through the flesh of the squash all over, then place into a shallow baking dish. Bake for two hours. Remove from oven, cut in half, and set aside. While the squash is cooling, brown the ground pork in a large pan, chopping into small pieces with the spatula as it cooks. Stir in the thyme, nutmeg, allspice, paprika, 1 Tbsp of the sage, and salt and pepper to taste. While the meat is browning, remove the seeds from the squash and discard (or set aside for later use if you're a baked seed fan like me). With a fork, pull the spaghetti squash strands apart and loosely pack into a large glass baking dish. Add the pork, onion, peas, carrots, eggs, second Tbsp of sage, and salt and pepper, stirring until well blended. Bake for approximately one hour. Great fresh or reheated!

Cranberry Beef Stuffed Squash

A lot of the recipes on here are relatively quick and easy to make. This one is easy, but it's far from quick. If you want to make a Fall meal that's totally delicious and you're ready to spend a lot of time on it, then read on.

*Serves 2-4*

Ingredients:

1 Eye of round roast (approximately 2 lbs)
1 Acorn squash (2 if preparing for 4 people)
1 Yellow onion
4 Strips bacon
1/2 cup Dried cranberries
1/2 Tbsp Unsalted butter
2 Tbsp Ground rosemary
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
Coarse salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Slice the onion across the center so it forms rings. Line the bottom of a crockpot with these onion slices. Mix the rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and rub generously all over the eye of round roast. Place the roast on top of the onions in the crockpot, along with any leftover spices. Cook on low for eight hours. About six and a half hours into cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds, leaving a bowl-like structure. Score the squash meat across the diameter several times (like slicing a pizza, but don't cut through the shell). Rub the butter all over the inside of both squash halves and sprinkle a little salt on them. Bake for an hour, then set aside (best kept in the turned-off oven to keep them warm).

In a large pan, cook the four strip of bacon until crispy, then set aside. While the bacon is cooking, pull the roast apart with a fork and mix with the juices and onion. Pour the roast and onion mixture into the pan with the bacon grease and add the cranberries and stir until well-blended. Continue to stir until the cranberries start to look re-hydrated (approximately 5 minutes). Plate the squash halves and fill each with the beef mixture. Crumble bacon on top and serve. (If you only made two squash halves, you will have a significant amount of extra beef to eat for the next few days. I assure you that you won't be upset by this; if you are, then you're on the wrong blog.)