Are you looking for freezer friendly meals? I get asked about freezer meals all the time and for good reason! We don't always have time to cook every night, but sometimes we may have an evening or two a week to prep for future meals. We may have busy schedules, but we still want delicious home cooked meals right? Lasagna has always been a great choice when wanting a meal that freezes well! Instead of traditional carb-laden lasagna made with pasta, make lasagna using spaghetti squash. It has a mild flavor which tastes wonderful with marinara sauce. It has all the flavors of regular hearty lasagna, but this version is lighter and healthier! A dish your entire family can enjoy!
Roasted spaghetti squash, creamy ricotta cheese, sweet Italian turkey sausage, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese! Comfort food to the max!
Spaghetti squash does have a tendency to release water when cooking. This is natural! I do find it to be less watery when I roast the squash in the oven rather cooking it in the microwave. Oven roasting is now my preferred method of choice. I think roasting makes all veggies taste better!
Begin by cutting the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and then scooping out all the seeds with a spoon. Get all those loose goopy (is that a word?) strands that are mixed in with the seeds too! Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Spray the squash with olive oil cooking spray and season with salt and pepper if desired.
Place the squash cut side down and bake until tender.
I love how the squash gets nice and brown around the top edges.
Use a fork along the flesh to make long spaghetti-like strands in a bowl.
Delicious spaghetti squash strands! Ready to be used or eaten!
Measure out 1 cup of spaghetti squash and place it on the bottom of a container. Sprinkle basil and garlic powder on top. Then add ricotta cheese. I used foil containers because I was freezing additional future meals for later. These foil containers are great because they can go from the freezer to the oven without cracking or breaking, unlike glass containers. I got these containers from Amazon. Click HERE for the link!
Next, remove the sweet Italian turkey sausage from their casings and cook until the sausage is cooked thoroughly. Drain the fat and set aside.
Measure out 3 ounces of sausage and spread it over the ricotta cheese. Top with Rao's marinara sauce.
This is the sauce you need to try! It tastes so delicious and it is lower in carbs than most marinara sauces out there! It is only 2 grams of carbs for 1/4 cup! 1/4 cup is 1 Green serving on the Medifast or Optavia Plan.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly and cheese has melted.
I was able to make four lasagnas with my spaghetti squash. Three of those meals went into the freezer and the other one is getting in my belly! Label the containers with the name, date, and re-heating instructions. Yummy, healthy, comfort food prepped ahead of time! Enjoy!
Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Ingredients:
3 ounces Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (1/2 Lean)
1/4 cup 2% Mozzarella Cheese, shredded (1/4 Lean)
1/4 cup Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese (1/4 Lean)
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder (1/2 Condiment)
2 tsp grated Parmesan Cheese (2/3 Condiment)
1/2 tsp dried Basil (1/2 Condiment)
1 cup Spaghetti Squash, cooked (2 Greens)
1/4 cup Rao's Marinara Sauce (1 Green)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Place spaghetti squash on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Season lightly with salt and pepper, if desired. Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and let cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a fork, scrape the flesh to get spaghetti-like strands. Measure out 1 cup of spaghetti squash and place on the bottom of an oven-safe container. Sprinkle garlic powder and dried basil on top of spaghetti squash. Then drop small spoonfuls of the ricotta on top.
Remove the Italian sweet sausage from their casings. Place the sausage in a medium sized skillet and cook over medium-high heat until cooked thoroughly. Drain the fat from the sausage. Measure out 3 ounces of cooked sausage using a food scale. Sprinkle the sausage on top of the ricotta cheese. Then add Rao's marinara sauce on top of the sausage. Next, add mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes or until heated thoroughly.
Makes 1 Serving
Each serving provides
1 Lean, 3 Greens, and 1.6 Condiments
If you decide to freeze them, place in the fridge the night before you plan to eat them. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes or until heated thoroughly.
