Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Back in May, I went out to California to visit my wonderful gal pal, Rachael (who, actually, was the initial kick-in-the-pants motivator for changing the way I ate over a year ago. Although, it did take me about 6 months to get serious about it). So...THANKS, RACHAEL! Anyhoo...after a long hike in Temescal Canyon (straight uphill...again, thanks Rachael), we dined at this fabulous eatery called  +True Food Kitchen in Santa Monica. The food was creative, fresh and delightful! It is definitely one of my favorite places to eat, and I discovered we had one here in Dallas which was some of the best news I received all year!

Ok, I digress. About a month ago, I wandered over to True Food Kitchen for lunch and chose a spaghetti squash casserole to dine on. WOW! It was really wonderful and I instantly decided that I needed to try and recreate it! And that, I did. Of course, I added a thing or two as I always do, but I highly recommend this very low-calorie, but highly flavorful recipe!

Spaghetti Squash Casserole (garnished with grated parmesan cheese and asian microgreens)

Now, this is not a quick recipe...it will take about an hour to prepare this dish, but the bulk of the time is roasting the spaghetti squash (which takes about 30 minutes). And, I actually skip making my own tomato sauce and just choose a great organic sauce which saves about 20 minutes as well.

Total cooking time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
1 medium spaghetti squash
5 roasted garlic cloves
1 cup broccoli slaw
4 oz fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 jar, organic tomato (or pasta) sauce
Parsley, basil, or microgreen leaves (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut squash in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds. Place with cut side down in a baking dish; Cover and bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes or until it is easily pierced with a fork. When cool enough to handle, scoop out squash, separating the strands with a fork.
2. In the same baking dish, roast garlic cloves (with the squash) for 20 minutes until softened. Once softened, squeeze garlic out of its skin and set aside.
3. Slice mozzarella into small slivers. Set aside.
4. In a skillet, heat tomato sauce with 1 cup of broccoli slaw. Cook and stir for 15 minutes while squash is baking. Simmer on low once broccoli slaw softens.
5. In a large bowl, mix spaghetti squash with roasted garlic, mozzarella, broccoli slaw and tomato sauce. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 1.5 qt. baking dish (I use my Corningware). Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes until mixture starts to bubble. 
6. Take out of oven, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley, basil leaves, or microgreens.
7. Let stand for several minutes before serving.

As always, ENJOY!