Roasted Spaghetti Squash Bowl

I have been converted. I am never eating regular spaghetti noodles again! Well, at least not as long as I have time to roast a spaghetti squash. Who would have guessed that a vegetable could taste so much like pasta? The best part is that this does not require any fancy equipment, just a fork! It is much healthier for you than pasta, helps you get a huge dose of veggies, and even keeps well in the fridge for leftovers. I paired a homemade roasted tomato sauce and some veggies with it and it was scrumptious. Here is my recipe below, but feel free to use whatever sauce and choice of veggies that you would like!

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
6 roma tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 sweet onion
5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
1 teaspoon organic sugar

Optional Veggies
Red bell pepper
Green bell pepper
Zuccini
Or add in whatever other veggies you would like!

Begin by pre-heating your oven to 375 F. Slice the stem top off your spaghetti squash and cut it in half (going to have to use your muscles for this part, but it will happen so stick with it!). Scoop out the seeds, and place the squash halves side by side with the cut part facing down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven. Then get out a baking dish and the Roma tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes in half, place in baking dish with cut sides up, and place below the squash in the oven to roast. Set your timer for 40 minutes.

While the squash and tomatoes are roasting, slice and sauté the garlic and onion, set aside. Then chop any veggies you wish to use, and measure out the rest of your sauce ingredients.

When the squash and tomatoes are finished roasting, remove from the oven, flip the squash over carefully (it will be HOT) and let it cool a bit while you prepare the sauce. Place your roasted tomatoes and the rest of your ingredients (basil leaves through sugar) in either a food processor or large high speed blender. Add the sauce and chopped veggies to a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and let cook for 5-7 minutes (or until veggies reach desired tenderness). While the sauce and veggies are simmering, use a fork to scrape the sides of the spaghetti squash to make the noodles. You can't mess it up so scrape away! If your squash is quite large, you will have more than a single serving for each half, so remove your desired amount of noodles for you and whoever you are serving, and refrigerate the extra for another day. I picked out a smaller squash so one half was the perfect serving for me (I can also eat a ton of this stuff, so maybe that contributed to it.). Top your noodles (whether is be in the squash itself or in another bowl) with the sauce and veggie mixture, and dive in!

Ravioli with Roasted Tomato and Basil Pesto

I was so excited when I stumbled upon an Instagram post by @b_lynn3 that involved vegan raviolis! I have never purchased any frozen food items from Whole Foods before (usually steer clear of those aisles in all grocery stores) but I made an exception for this amazing dish! These raviolis are made by Rising Moon Organics. They are 100% organic, without any additives or any of those unhealthy ingredients usually found in frozen foods, and their roasted vegetable and butternut squash flavors are vegan! These were absolutely amazing, definitely going to be buying more. I tossed these with a heap of fresh chopped spinach and homemade roasted tomato and basil pesto (recipe based off of Oh She Glows amazing recipe here). Topped with a few more slices of the roasted tomatoes and fresh basil, and devoured the most flavorful ravioli I have ever had. Now to go buy more!

Makes 3-4 servings.

Ingredients
1 package Rising Moon Organics Butternut Squash Ravioli, frozen
1 package Rising Moon Organics Roasted Vegetable Ravioli, frozen
1 cup fresh organic spinach, chopped
1 recipe's worth of roasted tomato and basil pesto

Roasted Tomato and Basil Pesto
9 roma tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup olive oil + salt + pepper for the tomatoes 
1/2 cup raw almonds
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped basil
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper, and place the halved tomatoes on it, cut-side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 1 hour.

Cook the ravioli according to the package's instructions. While ravioli is cooking, make the pesto. In the bowl of a food processor, add the almonds, basil, and garlic. Pulse until chunky but well combined. Now add in all the tomato halves, except for two. Blend until smooth, and then add in the sea salt (to taste) and blend some more. Chop up your fresh spinach and set aside. When the raviolis are done, drain in a colander, and then return them to the pot. Toss the raviolis with the spinach first to wilt the leaves, and then add the pesto and toss again. Slice the remaining two roasted tomato halves, and any remaining basil leaves, and use them to top off each portion of ravioli.