Herbed Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Meatballs

Yay for sneaking in vegetables where they don't belong! Yay for easy-to-make and yay for simple ingredients! Just yay!

You will need:

1 lb ground chicken

bread crumbs

1 egg

1 2.5-3 lb spaghetti squash

1 jar pasta sauce

salt & pepper

Italian seasoning

cooking spray

olive oil

parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine first 3 ingredients and season with salt and pepper. By combine, I mean used your hands and mix them up good. Shape into 1.5" round meatballs and line them up on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20 minutes or until done.

While the meatballs are baking, dump sauce into a pan and heat over low until hot.

Meanwhile, pierce the squash several times with a knife and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Then, cut in half lengthwise and remove all of the seeds and membrane with a spoon. Place into a shallow baking dish with 1/2 cup water, cover with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it. Microwave on high for 10-12 minutes. Using a fork, scrape innards out into a large bowl. Stir in 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

Plating: pile some squash, then meatballs, then sauce and dust with parmesan cheese.

---------------------------------------

Note: I use panko bread crumbs instead of traditional simply because they absorb less grease. Therefore, less fat gets into your food and this is why they have become a popular coating for fried foods. Not just for frying, they can be substituted anywhere bread crumbs are called for.