I love breakfast, and I am always looking for ways to incorporate more variety. I like eggs, and I LOVE bacon but, what about veggies??  This recipe is a great way to get veggies into your family’s diet and I promise, no one will complain! (Looking for more breakfast recipes and ideas?? Check out THIS blog post!) 

Cook the spaghetti squash the day before or even prepare the entire casserole a day ahead, and throw it in the oven when you wake up! Also consider making this easy casserole during the weekend to enjoy for breakfast during the busy mornings ahead.

I have a traditional Breakfast Casserole in my first cookbook, Satisfying Eats,  but I wanted to use my new favorite veggie in a recipes besides a pasta substitute!  The result is a savory casserole that kinda reminds me of a hash brown casserole with sausage! YUM!

How to cook a Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is probably one of the most misunderstood vegetables. Most people don’t eat it because they don’t know how to cook it, or they are afraid to cut the squash. And guess what?? You SHOULD be scared to cut an uncooked spaghetti squash. Instead of cutting it in half and heating up my entire house cooking it in the oven, I experimented cooking the hard yellow squash in the slow cooker, and it worked perfectly!

For the full tutorial, be sure to check out out my blog post here! To preserve the great texture of the spaghetti squash for this recipe, I actually cooked the squash for only 2 hours and 15 minutes on high in my slow cooker. Whatever you do, DO NOT overcook it or you will have spaghetti mush… not good!

NOTE: While the spaghetti squash is cooking, if you see through the lid that the “skin” has busted, feel free to go ahead and turn the slow cooker off and remove the lid (so that it doesn’t continue to cook). The key is NOT overcooking!  Cooking time will vary based on the slow cooker you use. If a knife can be inserted into the skin of the spaghetti squash, it is done.

Shortcuts in the Kitchen

I confess… I am lazy… well, I am BUSY like most of you are I am sure! Over the past year, I have had my hands full with two cute little boys. In some ways, it is easier now that my youngest is one years old, but in other ways, it’s even harder! Now I have 2 little ones to keep out of harm’s way, feed, bath, love …. My cup runneth other! I love my little guys and I love cooking for them, however, I am experimenting with ways to cut my cooking time down to a minimal, and cutting my dirty dishes down as much as possible. I feel like I spend ALL DAY in the kitchen and I would rather spend it with my boys.

One of my favorite shortcuts has been using more frozen veggies. I will use fresh when in season but for the rest of the time, frozen is the way to go! My freezer is stocked with diced onions, bell peppers, green beans, broccoli, spinach and sliced carrots. Having these veggies in the freezer has really cut my prep and cooking time down significantly! Also, no more cutting before I can start cooking which also means no dirty knife or cutting board!

I have also determined that frozen veggies cook quicker than fresh. Freezing vegetables breaks down the cell walls which sounds like a bad thing but for me, it’s not. This just speeds up the cooking time! 

You can use fresh onions and bell pepper in this recipe but save yourself a little time and get the frozen!

Variations

• Use any vegetable you like or have on hand such as sliced carrots, fresh or frozen spinach, sauteed zucchini… really, the possibilities are endless!
• Use any meat. I chose to use breakfast sausage but you can also use leftover diced ham or cooked and crumbled bacon. (I used my Breakfast Sausage recipe from my cookbook, Comforting Eats.)
• Use whatever cheese you prefer. I LOVE Cabot’s Extra Sharp Cheese… absolutely delicious! I like Kerrygold’s cheese is delicious, but it’s not always in my budget!
• Need to feed a LOT of people?? Simply double the recipe and use the entire spaghetti squash. Cook the casserole until the center is set and the cheese on top has browned. 
• Omit the sausage and this casserole will be a great side item at any meal.
• Can’t have nuts?? Use 1 tablespoon of coconut flour instead of almond flour. This is used to absorb the extra liquid from the spaghetti squash.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and you come to LOVE spaghetti squash as much as I do! Keep you eye out for more recipes using this unique vegetable!

Tell me, what do you think about spaghetti squash?? Love it or leave it??

Breakfast Casserole with Spaghetti Squash

2014-05-02 22:37:44

Serves 8

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Ingredients

1. • The cooked flesh of 1/2 of a medium spaghetti squash, approximately 3 cups of "spaghetti" (See Slow Cooker Cooking Method)
   • 1 lb. breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
   • 8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 
   • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 
   • 1/4 cup sour cream or heavy cream
   • 1 teaspoon sea salt
   • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
   • 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on the desired amount of spice)
   • 1/2 cup finely diced bell pepper (I used frozen)
   • 1 cup finely diced onion (I used frozen)
   • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
   • 1/4 cup almond flour
   • Extra 1 cup of shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Butter the inside of a 9X13 inch pan and set a side.

   In a large bowl, blend the flesh of the spaghetti squash with the cooked breakfast sausage.  Add the remaining ingredients (except the extra cup of cheese) and blend well. Pour mixture into prepared pan and top with the remaining cheese.

   Bake for 40 minutes or until center is set and the edges are a little crisp. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

   Serve warm, either alone or with a dollop of sour cream. 

Notes

1. Nutrition: 320 Calories, 23 grams Fat, 5 grams Total Carb, 24 grams Protein per serving

    

By Melissa @ Satisfying Eats

Satisfying Eats https://satisfyingeats.com/

  Also be sure to check out my two cookbooks, Satisfying Eats & Comforting Eats,   NOW available in eBook format through Amazon and the spiral bound versions are available here on my blog.

 Happy Cookin’!