Poor Man's Meal

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

With Roasted Red Peppers and Crab Meat

(...For around $12 feeds ~6 people!)

Hey kids, did ya miss me? It has been too long! After my fabulous 2 week excursion to London, moving into a new apt, and getting a new job, it hardly left time to blog.... but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. I'm so excited fall is here, and you will be too when you see what I have in store! So, in honor of me spending all my money on traveling and buying new furniture, I have dedicated a special post for the poor man... aka ME. I am officially the most broke I have ever been and you wouldn't believe the resourcefulness that came out of it. Just because you've got a small budget, doesn't mean you have to eat ramen everyday. This casserole is packed with vitamins, protein, is naturally gluten free and exploding with gourmet flavor. It serves 6 for around 12 bucks... or you can keep it all to yourself and really stretch your means. Oh, and P.S.... this meal comes out to 787 calories total! If you do the math, 1 serving is 131 calories. So don't tell me eating cheap can't be healthy! Now let's get on with it....

Ingredients:

-1 large spaghetti squash (around 2-3 lbs.)

-2 large red peppers (or whatever color floats your boat)

-1 yellow onion

-1 can of crab meat (6 oz.)

-1 can of tuna (5 oz.) (You can use all tuna if you're really broke and it will save you about 3 bucks)

-3 small-medium garlic cloves

-1/2 cup of your choice of shredded cheese (I used a fontina/mozz/parm blend because the sharpness    balances the crab/tuna well)

-a couple tsp. of fresh grated nutmeg (or use what you got), smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and dried Italian herbs to taste. (Nutmeg added a great warm flavor that paired well with the crab but don't feel obligated to buy it if it's not in your pantry.)

Prep:

-Follow whatever method you prefer of cooking the spaghetti squash. You can roast it, microwave it, cook it on the stove, do what you gotta do. Cook it fully as the baking process is merely to warm the ingredients and melt the cheese. 

-Once cooked, set aside to cool before you remove the filling.

-Meanwhile, Roast on high heat (425 degrees) the red peppers with a touch of olive oil. I cut them and lay them flat first.

-Chop and combine the garlic onion and tuna/ crab meat in casserole dish (use a 5" by 10" or larger)

-Once peppers and squash have cooled enough to handle, scrape out with a fork the "spaghetti" and dice the red peppers.

-Combine all ingredients in casserole dish with the dried herbs. Make sure to mix well so flavor is evenly distributed.

-Top off with cheese of your choice. (Feel free to use more or less based on your dietary restrictions; it's delicious combined throughout the casserole too!)

-Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 min. or until cheese and edges of casserole are golden brown and bubbly.

As always, remember that I believe in resourceful cooking, especially when you're on a budget. This means, if you don't have a spice, don't fret. You will learn with time that many things work well together and you can swap out seasonings for your own version of a dish. Don't be afraid to take a risk, otherwise you will never learn anything except how to follow a recipe... SNOOZE. Be brave, be curious, and be resourceful. Enjoy everyone....