Skinny Spaghetti Squash Goulash

This is a great recipe if you're trying to watch your carbs and/or wheat intake, and it adds just one more serving of veggies to your dish. If you have someone in the house that isn't a fan of the spaghetti squash, just boil up a bit of pasta and toss it in with some of the sauce. I take a shortcut by using store bought marinara (gasp), but a couple cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and a tablespoon or two of tomato paste would also work great in this. I know traditional goulash has paprika in it, and this is great with ¼ teaspoon added to the sauce. However, since we have a toddler in the house, I omit the paprika and sprinkle mine separately with some red pepper flakes for heat.

Skinny Spaghetti Squash Goulash

Serves 6

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and seeded
1.4 lbs ground turkey
24 oz jar of your favorite dairy free marinara
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
dried red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Season your squash with salt and pepper and place on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Bake your squash in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until it shreds easily with a fork. You won't want to over-bake here, because then your squash will be mushy in the sauce.

While your squash is baking, preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add your oil, and when it's hot add your turkey, onion, pepper, minced garlic, the garlic and onion powders, and italian seasoning. Break up your turkey into small crumbles, and cook until the vegetables are soft and the turkey has browned. Salt and pepper the turkey, then add your marinara. Bring it to a light simmer, and cover. Cook it for at least 30 minutes, stirring often. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

When your squash is done, dig your fork in and start shredding it into a large bowl. You can "butter" the squash if you'd like (Earth Balance works well here), but I found that it wasn't needed once the sauce was added.

Note: If you're planning on leftovers, you'll want to store the squash and the sauce separately. Otherwise you'll end up with soggy squash.

Add some squash to your dish and top with the sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes if you'd like.