Meatballs Over Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- salt and pepper
- cooking spray
For the meatball mixture:
- 1½ lbs ground chicken
- 1½ lbs lean ground meat
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1 small onion, grated
- 1 small Yukon Gold potato, grated
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp salt
- tsp garlic powder
- dash of pepper
For the sauce:
- 2 28 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp sweetener
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ - 2 cups water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the meatball mixture ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate (this will help to ensure the balls don't break while cooking).
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spray with cooking spray. Place on a lined baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get started with the meatballs. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a pot, and bring to a simmer. Let the sauce cook for about 20 minutes, until it thickens a bit.
- Working in batches, form meatball mixture into balls and drop into the simmering sauce. Do not overcrowd the pot, or balls might break.
- Cook the meatballs for about 30 minutes. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove from the pot and continue with the next round of meatballs. I usually cook the meatballs in 3 batches.
- Once spaghetti squash is cooked, remove from the oven and use a fork to shred into “spaghetti” (this part is actually fun).
- Serve meatballs over warm spaghetti squash, with lots of sauce. Indulge. Try to forget it's not really spaghetti. And admit it, it is pretty close.
