Stuffed Lasagna Boats

Lasagna is an all time favorite, between the red sauce and the cheese, what’s not to love!?! One of the most common request we get in the MRC Kitchen is for more Italian food recipes, and for pasta (basically anything pasta-haha). Spaghetti squash is by far, in our opinion, the very best substitute for pasta. It has great texture, a neutral flavor, it soaks up sauce as if it was pasta, and it’s low in carb and high in nutrients. We think of spaghetti squash as magical pasta, and after this recipe we suspect you will too.

Ingredients 

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 8 oz. lean ground buffalo 
• 1 cup Pomi Strained Tomatoes
• 4 oz. Ricotta Cheese
• 2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (plus extra for topping)
• Olive oil

Seasonings

• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 1 clove of fresh garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Step 1 - Roasting the squash

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash spaghetti squash and cut off stem. Slice squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and strands (similar to cleaning out a pumpkin) . Brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down in baking dish  with a about 1/2 inch water in the bottom of the dish. As the squash cooks, you can add more water if need to prevent burning. Roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on squash size, or until inside is soft and easily “fluffs” with a fork. It will look like very tiny spaghetti noodles… hence the name, cool huh? :)

Step 2- Making the Lasagna Filling

While squash is cooking, brown lean ground buffalo (can sub turkey or beef) in large skillet over medium heat. Remove meat from the pan and set aside. Add sauce to the pan along with all seasonings and simmer.  Return the cooked meat to the pan and mix into the sauce.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and fresh basil, set aside.

When squash is tender, remove from oven and using a fork, scoop, fluff, flake, scrape, whatever you’d like to call it, to get the inside of the squash to look like spaghetti noodles. You don’t have to get at ALL of the squash, you can scoop more later when you get to the bottom after it’s been filled.

Now we FILL THE BOAT! Start with a scoop of the red sauce, followed by a layer of the cheese mixture, and repeat the layers until you’ve over filled your squash, ending with a layer of red sauce and then topping them with mozzarella. Turn the oven to broil and put them back in to brown up the cheesy top.

Serving Size: 4 | Replaces: 4oz protein & 4oz cooked veggies

Notes:

Pomi brand strained tomatoes are TOMATOES only, there are no other ingredients in this product. While on program we do not recommend other brands, as most contain added sugar. You can also make your own tomato sauce, using just tomatoes and seasonings. Another option is to use finely chopped fresh tomatoes with their juices.