Recipe - Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Often I use spaghetti squash in place of pasta when I do Italian-style dishes so as to avoid the huge calorie count, but the squash can be too watery, which was the case the last few times I cooked it. Imagine a plate of pasta swimming in a pool of water on the plate . . . not all that appetizing, so this recipe I sought to eliminate the water leeching out of it. It turned out well, and it was delicious to boot. It scratches the lasagna itch without all the calories.

Ingredients

2 medium spaghetti squashes, or one large one.

Jarred marinara, or a homemade marinara, whatever you want. I used Aldi’s jarred marinara in this and it was up to the job.

Tub cottage cheese (16 oz.)

Italian sausage

Shredded mozarella

Instructions

Cut the squashed in half and scoop out the seeds, place on a cookie sheet cut side down and roast them at 350 for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave them for an hour or two until they cool down.

Brown the Italian sausage. I use links and remove the casings, so you could just used the loose kind. Up to you. You could cut up the links into smaller pieces if you wanted, too. You just want small chunks of sausage.

With the squash cooled, use your hand to scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Add the sausage, cottage cheese, and marinara. Fold all of that together. Take your time and fold it so as to avoid mushing up the squash noodles.

Transfer mixture to a casserole or any suitable baking dish and bake it for 1 hour at 375. Sprinkle the shredded mozarella on top and bake another 5 -10 minutes until melted.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Serve.