My meal plan kind of went to sh*t this week, but I did manage to make Paleo Pad Thai which lasted me 1 dinner and 2 lunches. All my other groceries ended up being great to throw together all my other meals. The spaghetti squash I bought to make the Pad Thai, ended up giving me SO much, I used it for almost every meal this week. It is so versatile and convenient.
This Tupperware was full after I roasted the squash and scooped out the insides. Roasting the spaghetti squash was really easy. I followed these instructions, but the gist of it is: preheat the oven to 400 degrees, put the squash on a baking sheet, poke holes in it so it doesn’t explode in the oven, roast for 1 hour. Once it is roasted, take out of the oven, let it cool and then cut it in half, scoop out the seeds. With a fork shred the squash and it will peel apart like spaghetti. Easy peasy!
The spaghetti squash and these Trader Joe’s spicy jalapeño chicken sausage have made my week of eats so easy! The sausage was a great buy because it was already cooked so I just had to throw it in the pan, heat it up and I was good to go. With these two ingredients I was able to make two delicious recipes and had enough for multiple meals!
Sweet Potato, Spinach, Sausage, Spaghetti Squash Hash
1 cup roasted spaghetti squash
1 Trader Joe’s spicy jalapeño chicken sausage
3 cups spinach
½ cup cubed sweet potato
½ tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil [EVOO]
Heat a pan with EVOO, add spinach. Once the spinach starts to wilt add the chicken sausage and sweet potato. 1 minute later add the spaghetti squash. Let heat for 2 more minutes and remove from burner. Makes 2 servings.
The Hash is great for any meal in the day. I ate it for breakfast and it kept me super full throughout the morning. For dinner and lunch, I made the below recipe and I gotta tell you, it was delicious!! On par with real pasta, seriously!
Spaghetti Squash with Sausage Sauce
2 cup roasted spaghetti squash
1 cup Trader Joe Tomato Sauce
2 Trader Joe’s spicy jalapeño chicken sausage
½ tsp EVOO
salt & pepper to taste
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
All of these ingredients are already prepared, so this recipe is super easy and really quick to make. Heat a skillet and add EVOO, once the pan is hot, add squash, sausage and spices. If you like your tomato sauce mixed in, add it now, mix well, let heat for about 2 minutes. Otherwise remove from pan and add tomato sauce on top. Serves 4
It was really nice to have the squash and sausage available in the fridge because it made it super easy to wipe up a nutritious meal in very little time. I love cooking, but I am lazy and a lot of the time I will snack or go for something processed. I am trying to eat less processed food, more paleo. These meals required me to cook a little which I loved but it was still so simple. Even though it was barely any cooking, it was still more than I normally do!
Cooking is so relaxing…I really enjoyed it this week… I am excited to keep at it!
