Spaghetti Squash Mexican Boats

When in doubt it's always Mexican, whether it's quesadillas, tacos, burritos, salads, guacamole with chips, margaritas 😉 I want one now, literally anything I am down!  I'm also always trying to get my kids to eat more veggies and I feel like with spaghetti squash you can try and sneak it into other dishes. 

Both of my kids do love brown rice, but of course I have to load it with butter (I use unsalted), so I mixed the spaghetti squash in with the rice and they actually ate it.  Adding this veggie to my weekly shopping list from now on. 

It's also super easy and fun to make.  Once it's cut open and cooked, your kids can help you scrape out the inside.  Even though my children are young, I really do try and include them when I'm making dinner because I am a strong believer that if a toddler helps make their meal they will more likely want to eat it.  Taylor loves to help with almost everything and Luke is slowly getting into it.  

This dish also includes the one and only CHEESE!  I could seriously live off cheese.  In the future I am going to try and only let myself put it in one (probably two 😉 meals throughout the day because when I actually paid attention to the amount I was eating, I realized I ate it in almost every meal. I am 31 weeks pregnant at the moment, so there will be none of that anytime soon.  

Ingredients for this dish

You will need 2 small spaghetti squashes (will make 4 boats) or just 1 to make 2 boats, avocado or coconut cooking spray, ½ white onion, diced, ¼ clove garlic, minced, 1 pound of ground turkey, ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth ( or organic), ¼ cup 1% milk, ¹⁄8 tsp ground black pepper, ¹⁄8 tsp kosher salt, 2 tsp oregano, ½ tsp. paprika, 2  tsp. cumin, ¾ tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, ¼ cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella, and 1 tbsp avocado oil.  If you aren't sure where to get avocado oil or what brand to use I've been a fan of Chosen Foods Avocado Oil! 

How to make these spaghetti squash boats

First, preheat oven to 350°. Cut spaghetti squash right down the middle, lengthwise.  Scoop out all seeds and place face down on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cook for 45 min. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet.  Cook onion, and garlic until fragrant.  Throw in ground turkey and cook until browned. 

Pour in chicken broth and milk.  Add all spices and mix well.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to simmer until squash in done.  Remove squash from oven and scrape out all spaghetti squash using a fork and add to the ground turkey mix.  Add cheese and cook until the cheese is melted.  Scoop ground turkey mix into squash boats and top with more cheese 🙂  Cook for another 5 min. or until cheese melts.

ENJOY!!!!!! 🙂 My family certain did!

Why should you eat spaghetti squash

Well, first and foremost squash is a vegetable so it's a great way to get your daily veggie intake w/out eating plain old veggies.  A standard portion size of squash is ½ a cup.  The amount of calories in a standard portion is 58 calories and the amount of fiber in a portion size is 2.9. 

Spaghetti squash, also known as calabash squash or, "vegetable spaghetti", is really quite unique because when cooked looks like thin translucent strands of thin spaghetti.  It has a mild, delicate flavor, but can totally be spiced up with the right ingredients, aka Spaghetti Squash Mexican Boats!