Spaghetti Squash with Pesto and Meat Sauce

I made spaghetti squash last week for the first time and loved it! It is such a great alternative to pasta if you are trying to watch your carb intake or if you are simply trying to get more vegetables into your diet. And best of all you can load it up with whatever kind of healthy sauces you would normally put on pasta. I made both pesto and meat sauce to have with it because I couldn’t decide which I wanted more, here are the recipes!

4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash

For the meat sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning Blend
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 pound ground beef, turkey, or bison
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 small can diced tomatoes

For the pesto:
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup toasted almonds
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups fresh basil leaves
4 sprigs fresh parsley
Juice from one lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Place the halves cut side down on a baking sheet, fill with about 1/4 inch of water, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until it is tender. Scrape out with a fork to maintain the spaghetti like strands, and serve with meat sauce, pesto, or both!

For the meat sauce, heat the oil in a dutch oven or large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery when the oil is hot, and brown the vegetables stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and Italian Seasoning Blend and stir. Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan and add the ground meat to the center. Break the meat into pieces with a wooden spoon and cook until browned. Add the tomatoes. Cover and turn the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

For the pesto, toast the pine nuts and almonds in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes until they turn golden. Pour them into a blender or food processor. Place the garlic in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until it begins to brown, and pour over the nuts. Add the basil, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the blender/food processor and pulse until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.

When serving the pesto, I like to sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Lots of recipes say to blend it into the pesto, but keeping them separate until serving allows the flavors to complement each other instead of blending together.