Baked Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca

This Baked Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca casserole is total comfort food without all the guilt. It’s naturally gluten free, full of flavor and super easy to pull together!

It’s a wonder that I’m getting anything done right now. You can forget snowboarding, laundry, cooking and work because all I want to do is sit in front of my computer and watch my newest Netflix addiction. In one word: Shameless. It’s not only the name of the show but it’s exactly how I feel when I watch the show. You guys! Have you seen it? It’s deliciously delinquent and somehow is endearing and funny while being totally desperate at the same time. From episode one I was hooked. And the cast!!! They’re perfect. Seriously, I can’t even. William H. Macy is sooooo good. And Joan Cusack? My favorite roll of hers EVER. Simply put, I can’t get enough. Thank you, Showtime, for what is sure to be an entertaining albeit total waste of the next two months at Casa de Mountain Mama.

Lucky for my family (and you), I’m pretty awesome at multi tasking. I can turn the tv in our living room just so that I can see it while I work at my kitchen counter. I’m still not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. And I can easily plop myself on the couch in front of the tv while I blog and do computer work though if I’m being honest, I get more tv watching done than blogging. But whatever. I feel justified about binge watching if I’m doing even just a little bit work while I watch.

Like I said above, because I’m only half way through season 1 and since there are 5 or 6 seasons, I see quite a bit of “multitasking” in my near future. That means easy recipes all around- I gotta make sure I keep things simple in the kitchen so I can focus on what is really important. 🙂
This Baked Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca is exactly that: easy. It’s chocked full of flavor thanks to the quick stove top puttanesca sauce and it’s healthier than a typical casserole because I swapped the pasta for steamed spaghetti squash. I did a liberal amount of cheese so I guess it’s not that healthy…. but it’s certainly lighter than most pasta casseroles out there. Besides, I’m not one to really worry too much as I stay super active and eat pretty well most of the time. A little extra cheese here and there never hurt anyone.

Hope you all have a great weekend and if your’e smart you should do two things. 1) makes this casserole and 2) binge watch Shameless and then come back here on Monday and tell me how you like it! As always, thanks for reading!! xoxo, Kelley

Baked Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca

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Ingredients

• 2 small or 1 large spaghetti squash
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2–3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• small pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of capers + 1 teaspoon of brine
• 15 pitted kalamata olives, quartered
• 1– 24 oz jar homemade or jarred marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds in the middle. Place the squash, cut side down, in a glass container filled with 1-inch of water. (Make sure the dish can fit into your microwave!) Cover the dish with plastic wrap and cook squash in the microwave for 8-12 minutes until squash is tender and you can pierce the squash with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool until easy to handle.
3. Meanwhile, make the puttanesca sauce by heating the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for about 1 minute taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the capers, quartered olives and brine from capers. Cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes and then remove sauce from heat.
4. Lightly butter a 9×9 or similar size baking dish; set aside.
5. Spare the meat of the spaghetti squash out of the shells and place into a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper and 2 cups of the puttanesca sauce and stir just until combined. Add spaghetti squash to prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly. Top with more sauce if desired and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
6. Place casserole in preheated oven and bake 30-35 minutes until heated through and cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
7. Remove from oven and serve right away!