I experiment with new recipes all the time. Some turn out meh, some are tasty and some are downright OMG! This little gem of a recipe is not only OMG, but has secured a coveted spot at the top of my “recipes to make again” list. Yes, it’s that good.

My Spaghetti Squash Bake is a somewhat modified version of this 5 Ingredient Spaghetti Pie I stumbled upon while surfing around Pinterest.

(Which reminds me – if you’re on Pinterest, stop on by and visit my boards. I’ve got hundreds of gorgeous clean eating recipes to browse through.)

The original version includes 1 pound of Italian Chicken Sausage. I’ve been trying to save a little dough by shopping at my local grocery store instead of Whole Foods and the chicken sausage options at King Soopers (great name huh) were limited to Jenny O (not a fan) and Boulder Sausage (better option, but I didn’t want to use pork).

So, I improvised and bought Red Bird ground chicken and created my own chicken sausage seasoning (with a little help from Google). And bonus – replacing the sausage can cut the sodium substantially.

While I’m going to stick with the ground chicken version myself, I’ve included both recipes for y’all. Hooray for options.

Update: Made this again yesterday (3/8/14) and added 1/4 cup parmesan on a whim – and it was even more delicious.

Spaghetti Squash & Chicken Sausage Bake (ground chicken version)

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground chicken
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato sauce (no sugar added)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning (if you don’t have poultry seasoning – like me, you can make your own)
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook spaghetti squash using the oven, crockpot or microwave method (click here for instructions). Let cool.
• Place a large pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Sauté onion until translucent (about 4-5 minutes), push to outer edges of pan.
• Add ground chicken and spices and cook until no longer pink.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the spaghetti squash, cooked chicken and onion, tomato sauce and salt & pepper.
• Whisk three eggs and add to the bowl.
• Mix everything together and pour into a 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
• Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top of the mixture is golden brown and crusty.
• Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Spaghetti Squash & Chicken Sausage Bake (sausage version)

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound chicken sausage (casings removed)
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato sauce (no sugar added)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cook spaghetti squash using the oven, crockpot or microwave method (click here for instructions). Let cool
• Place a large pan over medium heat with ~1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Sauté onion until translucent (about 4-5 minutes), push to edges of pan.
• Add chicken sausage and cook until no longer pink.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the spaghetti squash, chicken sausage, onion, tomato sauce, basil and salt & pepper.
• Whisk three eggs and add to the bowl.
• Mix everything together and pour into a 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
• Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top of the mixture is golden brown and crusty.
• Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For more spaghetti squash recipes, hop on over to my friend (and fellow Jersey Girl) Dani’s website.

Eat clean and prosper.

XO ~Robyn

My Mom made lasagna at least once a week when I was growing up. I love lasagna, like REALLY REALLY LOVE lasagna. But I can’t remember the last time I prepared it myself.

Since committing to a healthy lifestyle years ago, many of my childhood favorites just didn’t make the cut (like lasagna and stuffed shells and baked ziti). Can you tell I grew up in Jersey?

A few weeks ago, I decided to experiment until I came up with a healthier version of Mom’s cheesy, noodley dish.

Swapping out the lasagna noodles for zucchini, cutting way back on the cheese and adding spinach and ground chicken did the trick.

Zucchini Lasagna with Spinach and Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 zucchini, sliced lengthwise about 1/4-inch thick or less

1 jar low sugar tomato sauce (I’m a big fan of Monte Bene Tomato Basil Sauce)

container of fresh baby spinach

16 oz cottage or ricotta cheese (I like ricotta for this recipe, but tend to use a little less – like 10 oz – to shave off some calories)

1/4 – 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pound ground chicken

1 egg

1/2 tsp dried basil

ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the ground chicken in a frying pan with a touch of oil until no longer pink

2. Mix together the cottage or ricotta cheese, egg, basil and a little ground pepper

3. Slice zucchini about 1/4-inch thick or less (I used my handy mandolin slicer)

4. (Optional) The zucchini adds quite a bit of moisture (= watery lasagna), so I sprinkled mine with kosher salt and let ’em sit out on paper towels for about 10 minutes. The water will bead up and then you can pat them dry. Another option is to bake the slices in the oven to dry them out a bit (425 degrees for 5-10 minutes) before assembling your lasagna.

5. Lightly coat the bottom of a glass or ceramic rectangular lasagna dish with spray oil (or a little sauce), and then create the following layers:

a. 1/3 of the zucchini slices

b. 1/2 – 1 cup sauce (depending on how much sauce you like)

c. 1/2 of the cooked ground chicken

d. 1/2 cheese mixture (I just dollop it on instead of trying to spread it evenly)

e. few handfuls of baby spinach

f. 1/3 of the zucchini slices

g. 1/2 – 1 cup sauce

h. 1/2 of the cooked ground chicken

i. 1/2 cheese mixture

j. few handfuls of baby spinach

k. remaining zucchini slices

l. 1/2 cup sauce

m. 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella and a sprinkle of dried basil

Cover with foil and bake at 350-degrees for 45 minutes, remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes and voila – a healthy, veggie packed lasagna.

Tip:

Coat the foil with spray oil so the cheese doesn’t stick to it.

Eat clean and prosper.