{Spaghetti Squash Vegetable Bake}

This new recipe came about because we had squash, vegetables, and chicken, and we needed dinner. Thankfully I discovered a wonderful creation from the end of the week "leftovers" of the cupboard! It was so fun to whip something together and be a bit creative. I am so excited that my little last minute experiment turned out so well.

Spaghetti squash is one of my favorite vegetable staples. I can use it for any meal in almost anyway. I've made spaghetti squash hash-cakes, "spaghetti" and meatballs, and now this bake! As I've mentioned before, I'm going crazy with love for vegetables, so of course I took this opportunity to add as much vegetables as I could. I probably would have added more, but I went a little easy for my not-so-vegetable-loving family :)

Perhaps the greatest achievement of this dish is that my whole family absolutely loved it. Even my papa, who dislikes vegetables ate two helpings! Today for lunch, instead of his favorite taquitos, my dad had some for leftovers! That's like the ultimate compliment when my family gobbles up my creations! :)

This bake is so easy and a true crowd-pleaser for all ages.  Feel free to add in different vegetables. If I had cauliflower, I would have added some "riced" cauliflower for more vegetable goodness. 

May your family fall in love with this vegetable bake as much as mine did! :)

{SPAGHETTI SQUASH VEGETABLE BAKE}

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium spaghetti squash, baked 
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped to chunks
16 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
6 ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 cup fresh spinach, washed
1/4 cup broccoli, chopped into small florets
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
4 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat the oven to 375 F. Wash and cut the spaghetti squash into two halves. Remove the seeds (save the seeds if you want to roast them later!). Once the oven is ready, bake the squash in the oven, face up for 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of your squash.

Meanwhile, as the squash bakes, prepare the chicken either by baking it in the oven or cooking in a skillet. Prepare the vegetables. 

In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, vegetable broth, tomato paste, tomatoes, basil and cooked chicken. Once the spaghetti squash is done, remove the "spaghetti"  with a fork, placing the strands in the large bowl. Mix it all together, making sure everything is evenly incorporated. 

Place everything in a glass 9x13 baking dish, pressing down and evenly spreading out. Bake at 375 F for 35 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!