An Italian Dinner Escape with Bertolli

My Italian roots love a good pasta sauce with cheese – well, Nick and I both have a weakness for cheese  (Hudson’s too!)

Before Nick and I started dating I had never tried spaghetti squash.
I’m all about real pasta. Like gimme a huge bowl of tagliatelle and watch me eat ALL of it.
But I must say it’s all about balance and eating spaghetti squash once a week can still be a delicious treat. I know, I know it’s not pasta.

I typically reach for a hearty sauce like this Bertolli 5 cheese (yes, FIVE!) It’s the perfect compliment to some healthy squash. It gives the meal more texture, more flavor and yes that creamy cheesy taste.

Add a meat (or don’t!), we typically do ground chicken breast, and garnish with basil and cheese.

Seriously, this could be for a romantic night in (ahem, Valentine’s day) or for a little dinner party with friends.

Here’s our own recipe: 

Preheat oven to 375 convection bake
Cut spaghetti squash in half and spoon out the seeds/middle section
Coat with olive oil, cracked pepper and salt
Lay them down on a foil lined cookie sheet with a splash of water in it
Bake squash for 30 mins 

In a skillet prep your meat
We use organic ground chicken breast and we brown it with a touch of garlic and olive oil
When your meat is cooked, drain excess oil, then add the Bertolli 5 Cheese pasta sauce
Simmer on low for 8-10 mins 

Take baked spaghetti squash and rake it with a fork into a large bowl 
(this is how you get the spaghetti look and feel!) 

Put some in a small bowl and cover with your meat/Bertolli 5 cheese sauce 
Garnish with dried basil leaves and parmesan cheese

Because you can never have enough cheese. 

How amazing does that look?

Lastly, this serves at least 4. So we save it all and either use a different Bertolli sauce or eat it all again.  

Now get out a glass of wine and enjoy this home cooked meal as if you were sitting somewhere in Italy. Heck, sometimes being at home is actually better 😉

Ciao!