Click here to pin this Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Mushroom Bolognese recipe.

Spaghetti squash is back in my life thanks to my friend Katie’s recent post on Facebook. Why have I never thought to roast it whole in the oven like that? It makes it so much easier than struggling to try and cut it and fit it into a dish in the microwave. Yes, it takes about an hour (give or take) but once it’s in the oven that’s it. After it cooks and softens all you have to do is slice it longways, scoop out the seeds and fork out the strands – easy!

(Or – slice it into rings like my friend Beth recently posted about. Rings = longer strands that actually look like spaghetti. Genius! I’m trying this next time. But roasting it whole first.)

If you don’t have time to roast it in the oven and have an instant pot, here is how to cook spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot!

My favorite way to eat spaghetti squash is with a hearty tomato based sauce (like this one). I’ll never tell you that spaghetti squash will take the place of pasta, but if you are trying to cut back on calories, carbs or whatever – then this Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Mushroom Bolognese is for you. To me, it’s the next best thing to sitting down to a plate of pasta (and feeling really good about it).

Here are a few more healthy dinner ideas for you.

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The post Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Mushroom Bolognese appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Back in the day, when my husband and I first were married (almost 13 years ago), we lived in a very rural area of Central Florida. We had built a house there, because it was very affordable and near his parents, and lived there for about 3 years. It was just a little too rural for us and we found ourselves often driving the distance to where we live now to work and play. Although we were very happy to move when we did, we have some nice memories of life in our first house and the area it was in. Since we felt a bit isolated and were so far from our friends, we spent a lot of time finding ways to entertain ourselves – which of course included eating out at restaurants nearby.

One of our regular places to grab dinner was a little Mexican place, and this is where I tried Roasted Tomatillo Salsa for the first time. I remember not really knowing what a tomatillo was at the time, or even knowing that I was even eating tomatillos. All I knew is that I had to have this salsa every time I ate at this restaurant, it was usually the first thing I requested after ordering our drinks. I loved it with chips, but I loved it on pretty much anything I was eating from tacos to rice and beans to salad. Obsessed.

Tomatillos are naturally tart when eaten raw, but roasting them really brings out their sweetness and such a great flavor. I have used them in verde sauce and served over these Cheese & Onion Enchiladas (so good!!) and roasted them to make in salsa like this one I’m sharing today. Although I cheated and used jarred salsa, I’ve added green tomatillo salsa to soups like this Summer Chicken Chili Verde as well as Skinnytaste’s Easiest Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken plenty of times. Delicious!!

What ingredients are in salsa verde?

• 1.5 lbs tomatillos, husk removed, cleaned and quartered
• 2 poblano peppers, cut into large pieces
• 1 jalapeno, cut into large pieces
• 2 onions, cut into large pieces
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• large bunch of cilantro
• 2 limes
• coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

How do I make salsa verde?

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place tomatillos, pobalnos, jalapenos and onions into a large bowl. Season with cumin, salt and olive oil and coat evenly using a spoon to mix.
3. Roast in oven for 15 minutes until soft.
4. Once cooled, place ingredients into a large food processor. Add cilantro, juice from 2 limes, a big pinch of coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Process by pulsing 12-15 times or until you reach desired texture. Taste for salt and adjust. Serve with tortilla chips or as a topping for tacos, grilled chicken or fish.

Making your own Roasted Tomatillo Salsa also knows as Salsa Verde is truly simple, and such a treat to serve as part of a salsa bar when you’re entertaining. I like to include it along with fresh tomato salsa, guacamole or a chunky dip like this Mango, Avocado and Black Bean Salsa when putting together a Mexican inspired spread to serve family and friends.

If you cook with tomatillos and make something other than salsa with them you’ll have to let me know! I would love to try them in different dishes.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!!

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

• Author: Aggies Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 cups
• Category: Appetizer
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: Mexican

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Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs tomatillos, husk removed, cleaned and quartered
• 2 poblano peppers, cut into large pieces
• 1 jalapeno, cut into large pieces
• 2 onions, cut into large pieces
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• large bunch of cilantro
• 2 limes
• coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place tomatillos, pobalnos, jalapenos and onions into a large bowl. Season with cumin, salt and olive oil and coat evenly using a spoon to mix.
3. Roast in oven for 15 minutes until soft.
4. Once cooled, place ingredients into a large food processor. Add cilantro, juice from 2 limes, a big pinch of coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Process by pulsing 12-15 times or until you reach desired texture. Taste for salt and adjust. Serve with tortilla chips or as a topping for tacos, grilled chicken or fish.

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Mexican Recipes {Fiesta Food!} on Pinterest.

The post Roasted Tomatillo Salsa appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Something a little different for today…I want to introduce you all to a blogger that I enjoy reading for so many reasons – Olena of iFOODreal – Delicious Clean Eating recipes blog. If you are unfamiliar with Olena’s blog then you are in for a treat. Her blog is FILLED with delicious recipes that are healthy, clean and family friendly (and if you can’t already tell – gorgeous). I relate to Olena in many ways…we are both moms striving to be healthier versions of ourselves (with nutrition and exercise) and are focused on feeding our families the best we can. She is very down to earth and real, which I love and admire. You can read more about Olena, her interesting background (she’s Ukrainian and lives in Vancouver), food philosophy and passion for healthy living here.

Also, after the recipe below you’ll find a giveaway for her Clean Quick Dinner Recipes eBook – we are giving away 3 copies so be sure to enter. Thank you so much for being here today sharing your Clean Eating Half Meatless Marinara Sauce recipe Olena! (my kind of eating!!)

Hey guys. My name is Olena and I am an author of iFOODreal – Delicious Clean Eating recipes blog. Besides eating real and “clean” food, our family believes in eating local, organic and sustainable food as much as possible. Also recently we cut back consumption of animal products significantly, started to focus more on plants and meat became more of a side (as much as it makes sense). Healthier for us and for the planet.

Today’s recipe is a great representation of that – hearty, saucy and full of flavour. Ground meat of choice makes only 1/3 of the traditional Italian marinara sauce and the rest are lentils. Black lentils to be exact, which begin to be widely available. Lentils are high in fibre and rich in protein. Besides health benefits, substituting meat for lentils saves you quite a few dollars. I paid $2.50 for 2 cups of organic dry lentils at my local farm market. So, keep your eyes open next time you are grocery shopping.

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The post Clean Eating Half Meatless Marinara Sauce {and Giveaway!} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Growing up, in New York, my family would always have a big Sunday lunch. Antipasto, pasta, bread, meats, salads, espresso, Italian pastries and cookies…this was all the norm on Sunday afternoons. Sometimes it would be just my immediate family that consisted of my grandparents, parents and siblings (we all lived together) but sometimes my aunt, uncles and some cousins would be with us. The lunch prep started early with sauce on the stove. We went to church, the kids played out in the backyard, my mom and grandma cooked, my dad went to the pastry shop (I would accompany him most of the time), my grandpa was out in the garden or in garage working on something. By 1pm, the table was set and it was time to eat.

(love these memories…my mom and sister are missing at the table – little me, Zia (my aunt who lives in Sicily now), my cousin, my grandparents, Zio (my uncle who is no longer with us), my cousin (in Sicily as well) and my father)

Oh what I would give to sit at that big table with my entire family all over again.

We moved from New York to Florida when I was 10 years old (a bit of culture shock, honestly) and continued the Sunday lunch tradition (just the immediate family), but once my parents opened up their restaurant it seemed like someone was always missing at the table, usually my father – sometimes my mother, because of work. That’s just the way it was. They were open on Sundays, closed on Mondays, a little different than how it was in New York where the pizza shop was always closed on Sundays.

As time passed and things changed, our family have grown, spread out and gotten busy. We get together as often as we can. When we do, our lunches may not be as big, but always a treat – and they almost always consist of a nice big plate of pasta and sauce with some meatballs, sausage and sometimes some vegetables from the garden or farmer’s market. I’ll never forget my husband’s first Sunday lunch with my family…his expression was truly priceless. He was a happy man.

A bowl of pasta and sauce will always remind me of home no matter where I am.

I tend to make my sauce a little different than how I remember my family’s Sunday sauce, especially on a weeknight. For the sake of time, feeding my family and getting as much nutrition in each bite as possible, I like to make pasta dishes like this Spaghetti with Turkey Bolognese. It’s simple, but hearty and hits all the food groups in one bowl.

My husband and kids always love pasta night and so do I. Total comfort – and feel good – food!

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The post Spaghetti with Kale and Turkey Bolognese appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Just look at that glorious bowl of pasta. Does it make you hungry? It sure makes me hungry that’s for sure. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever met a bowl of pasta that doesn’t instantly make my stomach growl. It is truly one of my comfort foods, and loaded with fresh roasted veggies like this one makes it even better.

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The post Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Roasted Peppers and Eggplant appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Before I posted one of my most asked for recipes, I had to do a little research on what to call it first. This is what I learned (from Wikipedia):

Marinara sauce is an Italian-American term for a simple tomato sauce with herbs—mostly parsley and basil—but, contrary to its name (which is Italian for “sailor-style”) without anchovies, fish, or seafood. In Italy, marinara refers to a seafood-based sauce or food and does not imply that tomato is either included or excluded.

I have always assumed marinara sauce to be simple, chunky tomato sauce but I never looked up it’s actual definition. My family is from Sicily and to be honest, I don’t really remember referring to our sauce as “marinara” until we opened up our second restaurant in Florida over 20 something years ago. Our sauce was always “sauce” (not gravy either…just sauce).

(more…)

The post Simple Marinara Sauce appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

(this giveaway is now closed…thank you to all who entered)

I have been making pesto this past month like it’s nobody’s business. Every time I run out, I make more. I put it on everything…pizza, pasta, soup, bread and even use it as a dip for…pretzels.

I love me some pesto.

I normally make my pesto with pine nuts, but since I have a Costco sized bag of walnuts hanging in the pantry I have been using walnuts instead. And I like it. It gives the pesto and earthier flavor, and if you didn’t know, walnuts kick butt in the nutrition department. So it’s all good.

Now in addition to this pesto recipe, I have another favorite thing to share with you. My new Blendtec blender. Blendtec was nice enough to send me a blender to try out as well as one to give to one of my readers – that’s you.

How cool is that? You will love this blender people, it’s hard core. I have made 20 something smoothies in it already (there is a digital counter on the blender that counts your uses, my kids and I think that is the coolest thing). I’ve even started to make whole juices. I’ve made salsa … and this pesto. I’m having some fun with my new blender. And the winner will too.

Giveaway:

Blendtec Total FourSide Blender (value $484.95) plus an additional WildSide jar.

(Blender is factory reconditioned, as the one I received is)

Starts today, Tuesday August 9 and ends Friday, August 19 at 12 noon (EST) {edited to fix date to Aug 19, not Aug 20}

Sorry, giveaway open to US readers only. Winner will be chosen randomly using Pick Giveaway Winner plugin application {edited to write Pick Giveaway Winner plugin application instead of Random.org}

To enter into the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what you use your blender for the most.

Additional Entries can be earned by:

(leave a separate comment after you complete each item, each comment will count as an entry)

1.  “Like”  Blendtec on Facebook.

2. “Like” Aggie’s Kitchen on Facebook. (if you already a fan, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

3. Follow @Blendtec on Twitter

3. Follow @AggiesKitchen on Twitter (if you already follow, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

4.  Share about giveaway on Twitter: “I want to win a Blendtec from @aggieskitchen and @Blendtec! http://bit.ly/nV2cZJ”

5. Share about giveaway on Facebook with link to this post.

6. Subscribe to Aggie’s Kitchen RSS feed.

Good Luck!!

Toasted Walnut Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

• 4 heaping cups of basil leaves
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 1/2 - 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lemon (helps maintain fresh green color!)
• big pinches kosher or sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to the pitcher of your blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth.

(Disclosure: This giveaway is being provided by Blendtec. All opinions here, as always, are my own.)

PS…apparently I’m in the giveaway mood. Head over to Family Kitchen to enter to win a new cookbook!

The post Toasted Walnut Basil Pesto appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.