Italian Style Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash

Do you love Italian food?  I love Italian food. 

But it gets me into trouble.  My derriere cannot support all those carb calories!  Hahaha, actually the problem is that my derriere IS supporting all those extra carb calories.  Enough said!  That's why I love a recipe that gives me my Italian food fix without overdoing the carbs.

Enter the Spaghetti Squash:

Making this dish using spaghetti squash reduces the calories and carbs without skimping on taste.  Oh yeah, and it's good!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound Italian style pork sausage (chicken or turkey sausage can be substituted)
• 1 pound ground chicken or turkey 
• 2 cups  crusty bread, torn and packed (I used my Daves Killer loaf heels)
• 1 cup milk  
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 4 Tablespoons Parsley flakes
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan/Romano cheese mix
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil for cooking
• Spaghetti Squash

Put torn bread into bowl and pour milk over.  Push all bread down into the milk, cover, and let it soak until the bread is broken down completely.  Mix other ingredients while your bread soaks.

Finely chop garlic cloves then add salt, fresh ground pepper, oregano, and parsley.  Mix well.

Mix the three meats together in a large mixing bowl.  Add your soggy bread/milk mixture and stir together completely.  Next add the garlic, seasoning mixture, and the grated cheese.  Combine well. 

Add eggs and mix just until combined.

Take a small portion of the meat mixture in the palm of your hand and gently roll into a meatball.  This is where you decide if you want BIG meatballs or little meatballs.  I go for medium - about an inch and a half in diameter.  Place gently on a dish until you've made all of the meatballs.

Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium-low.  Place meatballs carefully into pan, leaving some space between them so they can easily be turned.  
 




Keep turning the meatballs until all sides are browned.  About 20 minutes.







Once meatballs are browned on all sides you can place them into a large pot with your tomatoe sauce, spaghetti sauce or marinara and cook for about 10 more minutes.  *If you are freezing the meatballs skip this step and put meatballs on papertowels to cool.  Once the meatballs have cooled place into a freezer bag/container and freeze for later!

Now onto the spaghetti squash.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise.  It's a tough shell so you will need a big, sharp knife and some muscle here!  Now remove the seeds and strings with a large spoon(it's a lot like a pumpkin inside, just not quite as slimey).

There are several methods of cooking spaghetti squash.  You can find some HERE.  But for time and convenience I like to microwave mine.Put the cleaned half of spaghetti squash open side down into a microwave safe dish with a few Tablespoons of water in the bottom. 



Cover and microwave for 8-10 minutes.  Remove carefully (HOT) and let sit for a few minutes. 

Remove squash from baking dish and use a fork to scrape from stem to back end of squash...lifting the "spaghetti" from the shell.  Place into shallow bowls and add sauce, Italian meatballs, and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. 

 

 Voilà!

 

Dinner is Served
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