Spaghetti Squash con aglio e olio (garlic & oil) w/ baby spinach, tomato, & garlic chicken!

Good morning darlingssss!

Today I want to share with you a recipe that I make when I know I do not have a lot of time (i.e. 20-30 minutes) to whip up something good! I love cooking with simple & fresh ingredients, and this recipe embodies just that. I believe that if you buy quality ingredients, there is no need for 1,000 spices in your dishes. A few herbs and/or spices, lemon or lime, salt, & pepper are enough to bring out the best in almost any food! My loved ones enjoy it- and I am sure yours will too! :-) Try it out!


Ingredients:

• 2 small pkgs. hierloom cherry tomatoes (or regular if you cannot find hierloom)
• 1 med. sized spaghetti squash
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 6-7 romaine leaves, chopped (or 1 bag of store-bought lettuce is sufficient)
• 1 bunch basil
• 8 cloves garlic
• 4 thin-sliced chicken breasts
• 2 cups leftover homemade sauce (or store-bought is fine!)
• Olive oil, salt, & pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

*Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

1) Wash, cut open, and remove the seeds from your spaghetti squash and place face up on a foiled & oiled cookie sheet. Top with salt & pepper and 1 tsp. of olive oil per half.

2) Flip each half of the squash face-down onto the cookie sheet and pour ~1 c. of water onto the pan. This prevents the squash from drying out and allows it to steam in the oven.

3) Rinse your heirloom tomatoes and cut each tomato in half. Place them in the bottom of a foiled & oiled baking dish suitable for roasting vegetables and top them with 6 crushed cloves of garlic, 2-3 torn/chopped up leaves of basil, a little more olive oil, salt & pepper.

4) Place both the squash and the tomatoes in the oven and set your timer for 20 minutes. In the mean time, gather 2 frying pans (1 for the chicken and the other for sauteing garlic, baby spinach, and the spaghetti squash once it comes out of the oven). Add some olive oil to each pan, and place each stove top on med./med. high heat. Top your 4 chicken breasts with salt, garlic powder, & pepper on both sides and place into the chicken frying pan 2 at a time, turning until golden brown and cooked through. For those of you trying to lost weight, you can grill your chicken instead, or just use cooking spray! 

Grab your 3 leftover garlic cloves on reserve, chop them up or mince them, and place them into the other sauteing pan- adding the baby spinach when the garlic turns a light, golden brown. Cook for 1-2 minutes and turn off the burner.

*By this time all of your chicken should be done cooking! :-)

6)  While your tomatoes and squash are still in the oven (they should be done very soon!), cut up your romaine leaves or gather your pre-packaged salad mix to be placed in a bowl for serving. If desired, top with your favorite salad toppings!

Here I used parmesan cheese and a few croutons (featured in the final photo!), because that is my favorite. :-)

7) Now remove your squash and tomatoes from the oven, carefully transferring each to your stove-top to cool. Transfer the squash as soon as possible to a dish with some cool water at the bottom to stop it from cooking any further. I like to transfer the halves to a dish with a spatula and then just pour some cold water from the sink faucet into the bottom of the dish. :-)

Now start lightly raking the spaghetti strands away from the outer skin, and transfer the warm/hot strands to the saute pan with the spinach! :-)

8) Top with your roasted tomatoes from the oven & toss together, adding salt & pepper to season the squash!

Below are some pics of what your meal should look like! :-)

 9) Now top each plate's spaghetti squash mixture with some of your leftover or store-bought sauce (nuke for a min. or so if needed!) & some parmesan. Serve & enjoy! :-)

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Xo -Jess