Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pie

I love pizza. It's my one weakness on the savory side of life. I could eat an entire medium pizza all. by. my. self. I kid you not. It's as if my stomach opens up and becomes a black hole that sucks down each piece that goes into my mouth and shoots it into oblivion. I NEVER get full. I simply just have to stop eating.

And this is why I can only indulge every so often. Or else I would be as big as a house.

So I wanted an alternative to pizza that used the same flavors but wouldn't bust my calorie budget. I adapted a recipe from Hungry Girl for a spaghetti-like "pie." Her recipe called for Tofu Shirataki Noodles which, to me, taste like rubbery cellophane. I didn't want to use those or the carb-laden spaghetti noodles either. See...I like quantity...and while whole wheat noodles are better than pizza, you still have to watch the portion sizes. What better substitute than spaghetti squash?



Here it is folks. Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pie (a loose adaptation of the original recipe from Hungry Girl)

Ingredients
1 small/med spaghetti squash
2 cups marinara or pasta sauce, divided (whatever is your favorite)
8 oz. fresh, sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup fat free egg substitute
20 slices turkey pepperoni
1 oz. shredded, part skim mozzarella
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 and spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Cook and shred spaghetti squash in whatever method you prefer (boil it, bake it, nuke it...whatever floats your boat). In a large bowl, combine squash, 1/2 cup marinara sauce, mushrooms, egg substitute, oregano, salt and toss well.

Place half of the squash mix in the pie plate evenly. Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on top and layer 10 slices of pepperoni on top. Then toss the rest of the mix into the pie plate and smooth it out.

Bake for 20 minutes to let the mixture set up then spread the remaining sauce on top. Layer the rest of the pepperoni and top with the shredded mozzarella and put it back into the oven until the cheese is nice and bubbly.



Let it cool so it will set...if you can resist...and cut it into 4 servings. (I told you I like quantity) This goes great with a salad and possibly some bread sticks if you're feeling a little crazy!

Butternut Squash Muffins with a Hint of Maple

I bought some butternut squash the other day in the grocery store in an effort to expand my culinary taste buds. I've never cooked or tasted butternut squash so I was browsing several different recipes. There were a lot that sounded good but I'm a sucker for muffins. So I baked the squash in the oven to cook it and the aroma was to die for. I scooped out a spoonful before I put it in the food processor to puree it and it was DELICIOUS!! I could eat it just like that with nothing on it. Seriously people, if you haven't ever tried butternut squash you must make it a priority.

Back to the recipe...I found the one on allrecipes.com and adapted it a little to lower the calories. Here is the result

Ingredients
1 ½ cups pureed butternut squash
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup Splenda for Baking
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup skim milk
2 egg whites, beaten
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Sugar Free Maple Flavored Syrup

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2.In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, Splenda, salt and cinnamon.
3.In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg and butter. Whisk in squash until well blended. Fold the squash mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.
4.Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling cups about 1/2 full. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from muffin pan and cool on a wire rack. Drizzle with sugar free maple flavored syrup.

If you'd like a glaze then add some powdered sugar to your sugar-free syrup...yummmm