Easy, delicious, and great re-heated for left overs. Yay! This is a recipe you can modify if you want to try a lower carb option with out the traditional pasta. Substituting smaller chunks of spaghetti squash for the pasta can help to lighten the dish’s flavor but keep the carbs to a lower amount.

Spaghetti squash is crazy hard to deal with raw. I have just about chopped fingers off trying to get it cut up. So, I have adopted my favorite way to cook spaghetti squash…. which is to just plop the whole squash in the oven. I usually have the oven around 300 or so and cook it for about 20-30 minutes. You can feel the squash to see if it’s a bit softer and judge from there. I have never had one explode. There are always micro holes around the stem tends to escape from and the process in an oven is slower than a microwave letting steam find it’s way out. You can cook multiple squash at the same time and then portion them up in freezer bags for future use. Sometimes I get carried away and the squash stays in an hour or more. The squash is pretty squashy by that point, but you can use it in other ways then. Like for soups. If you want to chunk it, it’s best to have it a bit undercooked. That way, the squash doesn’t fall completely apart in the dish.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta or 1-1/2 C spaghetti squash chunks

• 1 pound Everett Beef extra lean ground beef

• 6 bacon strips, diced or 1/2 C real bacon bits

• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• Barbecue sauce and prepared mustard, optional

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Or steam or spaghetti squash until cooked but firm. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside.

• In the same skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Discard drippings. Drain pasta; add to the skillet. Stir in the soup, water, beef and bacon; heat through. If using bacon bits just add the bacon here.

• Remove from the heat and add cheese to the top. Cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with barbecue sauce and mustard if desired.