Spaghetti Squash and Ground Beef Italian Bake

Cold-weather comfort food at its finest. This fall casserole has all the flavor of your favorite Italian dishes, but almost none of the carbs.

Ingredients

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 Vandalia onions, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced and deseeded
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp rosemary
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Carefully score butternut squash lengthwise and poke a few holes along the score. Place in microwave and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes.
3. Once cool enough to handle, cut squash in half and deseed. Coat inside evenly with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Place squash on the parchment paper baking sheet so that the cut edge is facing down. Bake in oven for 30-40, or until inside of squash is starting to brown on edges and the squash is tender. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool, but do not turn off oven.
5. While squash is in the oven, heat 2 tsps. of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers and cook, stirring often, for 5-7 minutes.
6. Once onions are translucent, stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add ground beef and salt and pepper (to taste) and cook, while stirring and crumbling beef with a spatula, for another 5-10 minutes.
7. Add the can of diced tomatoes (do NOT drain), Italian seasoning, and rosemary, and bring skillet to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes, then remove from heat.
8. Once the roasted spaghetti squash has been removed from the oven and has cooled significantly, take a fork and scrape the insides of both squash halves out into a 9×13″ glass baking dish.
9. Spread finished meat and tomato sauce mixture evenly over the spaghetti squash layer in the baking dish. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over all and bake in 400°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and has started to brown.
10. Serve hot alone or with your favorite garlic bread.