Woof! Spaghetti Squash!

Ok so I need some work in the blog-post-title department, but there are 2 very important parts to this post and they are completely unrelated. 

First the big news…WE GOT A DOG!!!!!!!

I’ve been a dog lover all my life and once I moved out on my own all I wanted was a pup of my own.  However usually my apartments did not allow pets and in general I was just too busy.  But I’ve waited and waited and then got married…and then Brian wanted to wait and wait…and finally FINALLY I got the green light. 

I knew I wanted to adopt, there are so many dogs out there who need homes!!  Plus we didn’t want a puppy, that requires way too much time than we have right now, plus he’s already house broken!

Meet Bromley :)

He’s a 2 1/2 year old Shih Tzu and a complete sweetheart!

We picked him up last night and so far I think he’s liking it here.  Of course I’ll keep you updated on our little furball.  For now some pictures!

 

I worked with GRR, Inc. Getting all Rescued and Rehomed, and they were fantastic.  The first 2 dogs I contacted them about, they deemed were not a good fit for us.  I was sad and frustrated at first but they didn’t give up on us.  The director, herself, went out one day to visit various shelters in Kentucky and found us our furbaby. 

Ok, Part 2: Spaghetti Squash and a Sauce you can eat with a spoon.

I realized that when making this tomato sauce last week that the process was very similar to making chili the week before!  Just leave out the spicy and smokiness.

Similar ingredients.

• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 shredded carrots

Sauté all these items in 1-2T of olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. 

Pick your seasonings and add a little bit here and there through the cooking process instead of all at once at the end or beginning.  I used:

• salt
• pepper
• oregano
• basil

You can use whatever seasonings you like.

Then add 1 package of lean ground turkey and cook til browned.

Once browned I added:

• some red wine I had opened (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 small can of tomato paste

Stir for a couple minutes and add:

• 2 large cans (28oz) of crushed tomatoes
• 1 medium can of tomato sauce

Finally 1 or 2 Bay leaves go in and let it simmer for 45min – 1 hour

Meanwhile bake a Spaghetti Squash!

Cut the squash in half the long way (the “hot dog” way as Brian would say haha).  Then bake in a glass or metal baking dish, cut side down, for about 45min at 375* until it’s tender and you can shred with a fork.

  Shred and “fluff” your “spaghetti”

Towards the end of the simmering time for the sauce I added about a half package of frozen spinach (defrosted and strained of excess water).

  Dinner time!  With a sauce this thick and chunky, I like a ratio of about 40% spaghetti squash and 60% sauce.

   This was deeeeelicious!  Especially with a nice piece of bread on the side.

Another reason I love a sauce like this, is that I eat the leftovers like chili!  Straight up, in a bowl, with a fork, cheese melted on top :)

Time for some puppy play time!!