Spaghetti Squash With Meatballs

Spaghetti has always been a popular meal in our house, but we all have a different preference when it comes to topping it.
Chance and I will eat almost any kind of sauce, with or without meat, while my hubby prefers meatless tomato sauces, and The Teen will only eat his with butter, parmesan and garlic salt.  My solution is meatballs in tomato sauce.

As for the pasta, hubby and The Teen like regular old spaghetti, while again, Chance and I are 'adventurous' eaters, and will try anything. When wheat based pasta became a thing of the past for Chance, we got even more adventurous with our pasta options.

Enter spaghetti squash :)

Don't turn your nose up just yet. While I will honestly tell you that it doesn't taste like pasta, you really ought to try it at least once.
When you cook up a spaghetti squash, and tease it's golden strings out of the skin, it is a wonderful, healthy substitute for pasta. It holds sauce well, and if sliced the right way before cooking, the strands are as long as spaghetti noodles.
I found that its best to cut it crosswise, rather than the long way, because the fiber goes around the squash...not up and down.

Let's begin.

Begin by slicing your squash in 1" slices and clean the seeds and pulp from the center.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 375*F for about 50 minutes, or until tender.
OR
Place your sliced squash in a microwave dish, add 1 " of water, cover and cook on high for 10 minutes, or until tender.
Either way you cook it, let it cool for about 15 minutes before you try to pull the 'meat' out of the skin, using a fork.

Ingredients for meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
3/4 C gluten free oats ( I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 C milk
3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 TBSP grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 350*F

1. Mix all of your meatball ingredients well (I use my KitchenAid mixer), but you can use your hands.

2.Shape your meat mixture into balls, and place on a baking sheet. I make mine about 2 1/2 inches, and usually get about 18 large meatballs.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the internal temp is about 155* when tested with a digital thermometer.

Now just put them into your sauce, (I opted to use a jarred sauce today) and you're good to go!

I usually use half in the sauce, and freeze half for another time.