My Favorite Sunday Dinner
I’m sure many of you have that one night during the week where you eat the same thing for dinner. For some it might be pizza on Friday night or Tacos on Tuesday night (or “Taco Tuesday”). For my family, it’s spaghetti and meatballs on Sunday night. There is nothing better than getting ready for the week ahead with a nice bowl of pasta, meatballs, tomato sauce, and garlic bread. Delish!!!
For a long time, it was angel hair pasta with 80/20 ground beef made meatballs and jarred sauce along with frozen garlic bread from the store. When I tell you that the 21 day fix program changed my life, I’m telling you that the 21 day fix program changed my life!
First change was the pasta. Have you ever tried spaghetti squash before? If you haven’t, you need to run to the store RIGHT NOW and buy one! Not only is it extremely nutritious for you but IT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE SPAGHETTI!!!! OMG!!! And a whole spaghetti squash is only 210 calories!! I only eat 1/2 a spaghetti squash at every dinner so that's only 105 calories!! Compare that to my old portion of spaghetti that I was eating --- 105 calories vs. 400-500 calories. HELLO!!! Who would ever eat past again???
Now I will have to admit, I was a little hesitant to make it the first time. First of all, I thought I was going to slice one of my fingers off trying to slice through it. So far (knock on wood), I have not done this although I have gotten the knife stuck inside the squash and had to call my husband to come over and get it out! LOL! I’ve realized a VERY sharp knife is my friend and to leave the “knot” (part attached to the vine) till the end.
Once sliced through, scoop out the seeds and membranes (sounds nastier than it is). My daughter loves to help with this part. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper and turn the squash face down on the sheet pan and place into a 375 degree oven form 40-45 minutes. I have a toaster oven so I cook mine for 30 minutes.
Viola!!! Just shred and enjoy.
My next change was with my meatballs. I changed from using 80/20 ground beef to ground turkey. I didn’t even notice the change and neither did my family. Win!!! The hardest thing for me was to find the correct seasonings. Ground turkey really does not have any flavor to it so I needed to find the correct amount of seasoning. Job completed!!! And 1 medium turkey meatball is only 42 calories compared to 74 calories in my old meatballs. Another WIN!!! You will LOVE this recipe and the sauce is amazing!!!
Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meatballs
Serves 6
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Total Time: 50 min
Ingredients
1 - Large Spaghetti Squash
1 lb - Lean Ground Turkey Meat
1 tsp - Salt
1 tsp - Paprika
1 - Large Egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup - Quick Cooking Rolled Oats
2 Cloves - Garlic, finely chopped
12 - Fresh Parsley Sprigs, finely chopped
1 (15oz) - Canned Tomato Sauce, no sugar added
1 (15oz) - Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Tbsp - Italian Seasoning
Optional - Parmesan Cheese and Basil
Spray Oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375. Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise and remove seeds.
Place face down in glass baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. (I cook mine in a toaster over so I would only cook it for 30 minutes)
When done, remove from oven and use a fork to scrap "spaghetti" from the inside of the squash.
Cover and set aside.
Lightly coat large baking sheet with spray oil.
Combine turkey, salt, paprika, egg, oats, garlic, parsley, and 2 Tbsp of tomato sauce in a large bowl; mix well by hand.
Roll mixture into 30 1-inch meatballs. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle.
Warm remaining tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, and Italian Seasoning in a large sauce pan for 10 minutes. Add cooked meatballs and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve meatballs over spaghetti squash and top with parmesan cheese and fresh basile.
21 Day Fix Container Equivalents
5 Meatballs = 1 Red & 0.5 Yellow
1 1/4 cup Sauce = 1 Purple
1 1/4 cup Spaghetti Squash = 1 Green
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese = 1 Blue
