1 lb. of ground beef, or ground turkey
1/4 cup of Ortega taco sauce
1 packet of taco seasoning (we like Hot!)
1 medium spaghetti squash, halved and seeds scooped out
1 Tbsp. of olive oil
1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper
4 Tbsp. of butter, cut into Tbsp. pieces
2 tsp of regular taco seasoning
About 1 cup of Pico de Gallo (see Pico de Gallo recipe below)
1 cup of shredded cheese (cheddar here but mozzarella would be good too!)
Cilantro for garnish
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium high heat until completely browned. Drain as needed. Turn heat to low.
Return ground beef to the pan and add the Ortega taco sauce. (This is how we make tacos! No water used here - this is a shout out to my husband who taught me this trick).
Sprinkle in your taco seasoning and stir all to combine.
While your meat is cooking, you can cut your spaghetti squash in half (lengthwise) and scoop out the seeds. I don’t have any awesome advice here - just be careful, start at the top and use a good knife!)
Coat the squash with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with minimal salt and pepper. Turn cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-40 mins. I check at 20 mins and then every 5 mins after. (Depending on the size of your squash, the time it takes to cook will vary, and if you don’t like it mushy like me, it’s done once you’re able to take a fork and start shredding the squash.
Once the squash is done, shred completely and then add 2 Tbsp of butter per half. Sprinkle with some additional taco seasoning (or 1/4 tsp of cumin, chili powder, paprika and garlic powder).
Start making your boat! Remove some of the squash from one half, add 1/4 of the taco meat, 1/4 cup of the Pico, and 1/4 of the shredded cheese. Add the squash that was removed and then layer the same way again until both squashes have two layers of meat, Pico and cheese with squash in between.
Bake for 15 additional minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately and be ready for everyone to want seconds! Enjoy!
This recipe is such a fun way to change up your Taco Tuesdays and I absolutely LOVE spaghetti squash. But only if it's still slightly crunchy. If it's overcooked and too mushy, it looses all its appeal to me. The slight crunch of the squash and the Pico de Gallo make this dish so freshy and tasty.
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