One thing I love about my challenge groups is all the great tips and recipes we share with each other. This meal came together thanks to 2 great tips from my challengers. First, spaghetti squash. I have tried a few methods in the past, but it always seems like its too much work, too hard to cut, ends up soggy, or all 3. But then a challenger told me about this method: Make small cuts all around the squash. Bake at 375 for 60 min. Let cool, cut, remove seeds, use a fork to make the spaghetti strands. More details here: steamykitchen/11285-baked-spaghetti-squash-with-garlic-and-butter.html. I dont finish mine off with butter, but the rest works well for a healthy pasta alternative. Definitely the easiest and best-tasting method Ive tried. For the sauce, I started with this great simple recipe that a challenger shared: skinnytaste/2011/06/crock-pot-pasta-sauce-with-sausage.html. But I didnt have sausage or flavorful crushed tomatoes. So I ended up with my own version. I dumped all of this in the crock pot: - 1.25 pounds browned ground turkey - 5 crushed garlic cloves, browned in olive oil - 1 diced yellow onion - 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes - 1 small can tomato paste - 1 T dried oregano - 1T dried basil - 1t dried thyme - 1/2 T crushed red pepper - salt & pepper Cooked on low for 6 hours. One plate of this made me SO full. It was unbelievable. If Id used regular pasta I would have had many more calories and carbs, and been craving seconds. Although this takes some time, its mostly just letting things bake, so its pretty easy even for a busy mom. And it is 21 day fix approved! 2 green, 1 red. You can use a blue to put some cheese on top if you like, Instead I used it for the avocado on my side salad.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 06:22:01 +0000