Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Chicken Sausage, Spinach, Parsley and a White Wine Sauce
Get the whole family to love spaghetti squash with this rich and hearty casserole made with a fragrant and tasty white wine sauce as part of the filling.
Ingredients
Spaghetti Squash
1 medium spaghetti squash
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
dash sea salt
dash pepper
Sausage and Spinach Mixture
4 mild Italian chicken sausage links casings removed (or 1lb ground mild Italian style chicken sausage)
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cups organic baby spinach
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
White Wine Sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup white wine
dash of sea salt
dash of black pepper
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half length wise and scrape out seeds and membrane from the middle. Place both halves on a parchment lined baking tray insides up. Lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle a dash of sea salt and black pepper. Bake for one hour uncovered. You should be able to easily penetrate the skin with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, scrape out the spaghetti strands and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Turn down the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the chicken sausage in the tablespoon of olive oil. Once it’s almost opaque, add onions and cook until the onions start to look transparent then add minced garlic, sea salt and black pepper. After about a minute, add the spinach. Once wilted, add the parsley and cook until wilted then remove mixture from heat. Add chicken mixture to the spaghetti squash bowl and blend together well. Set aside and make the white wine sauce.
For the sauce, heat the olive oil, turn down to medium low heat then add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds then add red pepper flakes and cook for a few more seconds. Add white wine and lemon juice and let simmer a few minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the four tablespoons of butter and remove mixture from heat after the butter is melted. Add the lemon zest and season with a dash of sea salt and black pepper.
Add the sauce to the sausage and spaghetti squash and mix all ingredients well then add in the tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Pour into a 9 x 9 baking dish, sprinkle the shredded Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Let sit for about 5 – 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Mina Frannea is an online media professional. She is the editor and social media manager at North Texas Kids Magazine as well as the Marketing and Public Relations Director for Actor Richard Hatch. Mina enjoys the Arts, Sci-Fi, new technology, cooking, enlightening discussions and sharing relevant information on her blog TheMomsJournal. Mina also provides PR services for conventions and other events.
