Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash Bake

Who doesn't love casseroles!? It's been a while since I picked out a casserole recipe for meal prep, so it's time to bring them back. Casseroles are always a great option for meal prep because they typically have little prep and you end up tossing everything together in one baking dish, which eliminates time in the kitchen and time cleaning dishes! Anyways, the original recipe did not add broccoli to the casserole, but I thought this meal could use some more veggies so I threw those in. The original recipe also only called for 1 lb of shredded chicken and 1 egg, but I doubled both of those as you can see. Note, there is no instruction on shredding the chicken. You can bake (or broil) the chicken, let it cool, then throw it in a food mixer to shred, which is what I did. If you are short on time you can also buy a rotisserie chicken and pick that apart to use for this dish. I thought this meal turned out tasting very much Italian and very yummy. If you are skeptical of this recipe or paleo recipes in general, then leave out the broccoli. I personally liked the addition, but I can see others not enjoying those bites. Other then that, every spaghetti squash casserole I've ever made has turned out amazing and that includes this one too. This one is definitely worth giving a try!

Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash Bake
​Ingredients:

• 1 Spaghetti squash (I picked out a medium/large sized one)
• 2 lb. organic boneless chicken breasts, baked or boiled and shredded
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 clove garlic, crushed
• 3 handfuls fresh spinach
• 3 cups of Broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce of choice (homemade or store-bought)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, more to taste
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F.
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Lay spaghetti squash face down on baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, until fork tender, and let cool.
5. Once cool, scrape out spaghetti squash using a fork and place in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
6. In a small skillet over medium-heat, heat oil and sauté garlic. Add spinach and broccoli and sauté until spinach is wilted.
7. Add spinach, broccoli and garlic mixture, shredded chicken, tomato sauce, eggs, and spices to the bowl with the spaghetti squash. Mix until well combined.
8. Transfer entire mixture to a baking dish.
9. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
10. Bake at 375 °F for 20 minutes. Broil on high for 3-5 minutes, or until top starts to bubble and brown.

​Original recipe found here