So, since closing our gym and covid lockdowns and a bunch of other stress aka excuses, my husband and I have gained a bunch of weight back. I quickly realized, I can’t cook everything with cheese as my main ingredient or have potatoes with every meal. So, here is a healthier version of spaghetti and meatballs. It’s the gradual, little changes that will help us. We know how to do it, we just had to have a mind adjustment. Mainly, it was make changes, or go on statins and be in a pre-diabetic state. We are approaching 50, so that’s not an option. We have a lot of life left to live.
What you’ll need:
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 small can of tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup parmasean
- 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon of garlic salt
- 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire
- 1 shallot, chopped
- Panko bread crumbs (a few cups to help form the meatballs)
- 1 spaghetti squash
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Parsley for garnish
- Your favorite marinara sauce
Step by step:
Take a sharp knife and punch several holes in your spaghetti squash. Place in the microwave for 5 minutes. This makes it easier to cut the squash in half.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
When the squash comes out of the microwave, slice off the stems and cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and guts. Cover each side of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place guts side down on a baking sheet covered in foil.
Bake for 1 hour. When it’s done, it will be golden brown when you flip it over. Use a fork to scrap squash and you will have a stringy spaghetti like texture. While your squash is cooking, you can start your meatballs.
Into a large bowl, mix meat, tomato sauce, garlic salt, parmasean, Italian seasoning, shallot, Worcestershire, salt, pepper & enough panko to hold things together. Make into balls. Heat oven to 400 degrees or wait for squash to finish before using the same heated oven for the meatballs.
I made 18 meatballs that were large. You could make smaller ones that will cook faster.
Grease a 9×11 baking pan or cast iron skillet (i used a cast iron baking pan) and place the meatballs in the pan.
Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of meatballs. After they are cooked through, turn the broiler on high and continue cooking the meatballs for another 5-10 minutes. This gives them that crispy outside.
Serve on top of spaghetti squash and top with your favorite sauce and chopped flat parsley for garnish.
