Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Beets

My husband brought these two spaghetti squash home from the farmers' market, and I wanted to make something different with them.  Usually, I roast them, remove the strands, and put some sort of sauce over the strings or toss them with olive oil and garlic.  I had an idea that I wanted to stuff them, but really didn't have much of an idea what I wanted to stuff them with, so I started looking around on the internet and stumbled across this recipe at My Kitchen Addiction. I made a few changes to the original recipe and came up with these.  They were really delicious.

Of course, my husband didn't come home with just spaghetti squash, he brought beets too, so I made a super simple but really delicious roasted beet recipe to go with the squash.  This recipe might seem almost too simple, but if you like beets, you will love it. Make sure to scroll down below the squash recipe to see the beet recipe.

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

yield:  4 large entree servings

2 small spaghetti squash

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, mince

1/4 cup flour

2 12 oz. cans evaporated milk

4 oz. crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1 9 oz. package baby spinach

8 oz. sliced mushrooms (I bought mine pre-sliced.)

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds.  Place cut side down in a microwaveable baking dish.  Put a little water in the bottom of the baking dish and microwave until the squash is tender (10-15 minutes depending on the size of the squash.  You will probably only be able to do 1 squash (2 halves) at a time.  Allow the squash to cool enough for you to work with it.  Remove the strands with a fork and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Saute mushrooms until tender.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir until evenly distributed.  Add the evaporated milk and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.   Stir in the Gorgonzola and cook until melted.  Add the spinach a little at a time, allowing the mixture to cook a little between each addition to make room for more.  Continue cooking until all the spinach is added and cooked until wilted.  Stir in the chicken and spaghetti squash strands.  Distribute evenly into the spaghetti squash shells.  Sprinkle Parmesan on top.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Source:  adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

Roasted Beets

yield: serves 4 

8 small to medium beets, cut into bite sized chunks

8 cloves garlic, whole and peeled

1 Tbsp. olive oil 

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degees.  Toss all ingredients together in a medium bowl making sure all the beat chunks and garlic cloves are well coated in olive oil and vinegar.  Pour into a baking dish and bake for about an hour or until beets are tender.