Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti Squash

As I mentioned in the previous post I have a friend who shared a bunch of vegetables from her Bountiful Baskets coop. Besides the zucchini there was also some spaghetti squash... yum! So the recipe I'm sharing today is one I've made before and liked with a few modifications. I actually made this recipe last week before my husband left for three weeks and the baby conveniently got uber sick. Luckily for me it made a lot and reheated well so while I ate the same thing straight for three days, it was easy and good! LOL! Life of a mom! I used this Skinnytaste recipe as a guideline and made a few of my own changes.

A couple things before I share the recipe... a lot of "skinny" recipes that call for cheese use pre-shredded lowfat cheese. I don't like all the chemicals and preservatives they add to shredded cheese just to keep it from sticking, so I prefer to buy block cheese and shred it myself. Then I just use a food scale to weigh out how much I need. I know it adds back calories... but I just personally believe it is healthier. I also added chicken to this recipe. I buy it in bulk at Costco and it comes in packs of two chicken breasts and I just freeze them. For this recipe I had the hubby grill two of the breasts and I chopped it up and added it in. And mine did come out a little saucy... the spaghetti squash were on the small side... so hindsite I wouldn't have added all the sauce. If your spaghetti squash are on the small to medium side, add sauce gradually until you have the consistency you want. I just accommodated by using a slotted spoon when I served it so that some of the sauce drained out.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium spaghetti squash
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cooked chicken breasts chopped into bite sized pieces
• Grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top
• Grape tomatoes halved (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out and discard seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Place cut side up on a baking sheet and bake for about an hour (until tender).

Use a fork to separate the strands. I find that scraping from the outside shell towards the center of the spaghetti squash keeps the strands in tact and from getting mushy. Place strands in a bowl and discard the shells. Keep oven heating at 375 degrees.

Heat the butter and oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring continually, about 4 minutes.

Add milk and chicken broth, whisking continually while raising heat to medium-high until mixture is boiling and becomes smooth and thick, about 3-4 minutes (mine took a little longer). Season with salt and pepper.

Once it becomes thick, remove from heat and add cheddar cheese. Mix until the cheese is melted and sauce is well combined.

Combine with chicken and spaghetti squash.

Pour into baking dish and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes until top is bubbly and golden. I also had a large amount of tomatoes from the Bountiful Basket, so I added some cut grape tomatoes in the last 10 minutes. I didn't want them to overcook and become mushy so I waited until it was almost done cooking..

Enjoy!