Gone boating

Spaghetti Squash Boats

One small squash serves two
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

If you're looking for an easy and impressive looking meal to serve to guests, look no further! This is a great substitute for pasta. If you don't feel like getting fancy, skip the part where you melt cheese in the squash skin and just serve it. Enjoy :)

Your Shopping List:

• 2 cups of your favourite pasta sauce (I make my own that has lots of veggies and either turkey or beef)
• One small-ish spaghetti squash
• a handful of grated cheese (I used Mozzarella)

What to do with it:

1. Preheat your oven to 400
2. Cut spaghetti squash length-wise and remove seeds (set them aside to roast later)
3. Place squash cut-side down on a greased or lined baking sheet
4. Bake in pre-heated oven for approximately 35-40 minutes
5. When the squash is cooked, shred with a fork
6. Mix shredded squash with your pasta sauce in a bowl then return it to the hollowed squash skins
7. Top with cheese and bake the squash boats for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted
8. Serve with a garden salad!

Blast From My Past

I really, really, really love pasta.
I really, really, really love cooking.
I really, really, really hate doing dishes.

This recipe is perfect because it only incorporates two of those things: Pasta & Cooking.

This one-pot meal is great because you don't wind up doing dishes for meat, sauce and pasta. It's one of my favourite meals and reminds me of living at home when my step-mama was doing some of the cooking. I've taken the recipe and modified it to suit my taste buds & hatred of doing dishes.

"Blast From the Pasta"

Adapted from Crazy Plates Cookbook

Your Shopping List:

1lb or so of Extra-lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tray of sliced mushrooms, or a handful that you will slice yourself
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 can cream of mushroom soup (look for some without MSG)*
1 can of tomato soup (no msg)
1/4 cup of milk*

1 tsp chili flakes

1/2 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp chili powder2 handfuls of washed baby spinach
any other vegetables you like in pasta
3 cups of dry pasta such as penne or fusili

*if you don't have any cream of mushroom soup, you can use extra mushrooms, milk and a bit of plain yogurt or sour cream. The flavour isn't as rich, but it's still tasty!

What to do with it:

1. Cook the meat in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat (I use a deep lagostina pan that a lid)
2. When the meat is cooked through, add in the veggies and cook until they start to become tender - about 5 minutes
3. Add the canned tomatoes and soups; stir well
4. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil
5. Lower heat to a simmer, and cook, lid on, for 30 minutes - stirring occasionally
6. Serve, allow to cool slightly, and enjoy!