Spaghetti Squash with Bolognaise Meat Sauce

If you didn't read my previous post you must be warned, I am a rabid squashavore in peak season right now. I adore squash of all varieties and eat them like crazy every fall. When I can get fresh, locally farmed squash, LOOK OUT! I will be on a squishy rampage and no dish is safe from me finding a way to include squash in it.

My family is big on pasta. My husband is about as crazy about tomato sauce as I am about squash. I could announce an Italian dish every night of the week and his eyes would light up every single time. I grew up eating a lot of spaghetti, so I get a little bored with tomato sauce and I'm always trying to find ways to keep it interesting for me without being terrifying for him. Kind of funny for me, a foodie to be married to someone with complex, deep rooted food phobias. But, I've actually found it very challenging and it's helped me to grow as a home chef.

Carl very happily devoured my home-made bolognaise over angel hair for dinner last week, but I had a bit left over and the girls were home for lunch on Friday sooooo..... I re-heated the sauce on the stove. I absolutely love leftovers now that we've ditched the microwave. I cut a beautiful, gleaming yellow spaghetti squash lengthwise and scooped out the seeds. (They will be roasted as a snack for after school today.) I placed the halves, cut side down in a pan with a couple inches of water in the bottom and baked the squash for about 45 minutes at 350. Then I scraped out the flesh which comes out in elegant strings that look just like spaghetti noodles. I topped it with the warm bolognaise and a little Parmesan. Voila! Instant hit with my girls. Marie actually did say it was her favorite meal ever. If you have kids who are reluctant to eat squash, give this one a try! You can top it with any warm pasta sauce, but the creamy, hearty bolognaise worked very well with the mild-flavored squash tendrils.

Basic Pork Bolognaise Sauce
3-4 slices of bacon (I prefer nitrate-free applewood smoked, Mmmmmm)
1 diced onion
1 diced pepper (I used three teeny peppers from my garden, two purple and one green.)
1 lb pork sausage (I was really happy with Johnsonville's all natural mild pork sausage)
2 cups stock (I used vegetable, but beef or even chicken should work fine too.)
1 tsp sugar
1 can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon slices on medium heat in a large skillet until they are just barely browned, cut them into small pieces and return them to the pan with the onion and peppers. Saute until the veggies are beginning to look translucent. Move all the veggies around to the sides of the pan and place the sausage in the middle of the pan. Break up the sausage as it is cooking until it's browned and in small bits. then work the vegetables into the pork and add the stock, sugar and tomato sauce to the pan. Turn town the heat to low and let it simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Before serving add the cream and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over spaghetti or toss with rotini or be brave like me and serve it over some spaghetti squash!