Spaghetti Squash Bake with Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce

Vegan Richa's Italian dishes are easily on par with her Indian dishes! This is a super healthy, easy substitute when you're craving lasagna.

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 ounces spinach, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce
7 oz. silken tofu
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. oregano, basil and thyme
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. sundried tomato
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. non-dairy milk
2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot starch

Garnish
fresh basil or herbs, pepper flakes, vegan Parmesan or breadcrumbs

Directions
Cook the spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot. Place the spaghetti squash on a trivet, add 1 1/2 cups of water to the inner pot, then lower into the Instant Pot. Close the lid, and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.

Carefully lift out the trivet with the spaghetti squash from the Instant Pot. Let the squash cool for 5-10 minutes, then slice open. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. The squash will be well cooked and soft at this point. You can convert it into noodles using a fork by pulling the fork through the squash, from the end to the top. The longer the stroke, the longer noodles you'll get. Set the noodles aside.

For the sauce, blend all the ingredients until well blended. Blend for a minute, let it sit for a few minutes so the sundried tomato can rehydrate, then blend again until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Next, assemble your squash bake. Oil the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish. Add all of the spaghetti squash, garlic, and spinach, then pour in the tomato cream sauce, and toss well so that it is mixed in. Top the sauce with some pepper flakes and some vegan mozzarella (optional), and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes until the edges are golden, and the sauce is bubbly. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh herbs and vegan parm. You can also add some bread crumbs before baking so that you get a toasted bread crumb topping.

Serves 6.

1 serving = 121 calories

Raw Apple Crisp

Ingredients

4 Honeycrisp apples, cored and diced

1/4 c. orange juice

3/4 c. pecan halves

3/4 c. hazelnuts

3/4 c. raisins

3/4 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

Toss diced apples with orange juice and put into casserole dish. Smooth the top. In a food processor, combine nuts, raisins, ginger and cinnamon and pulse until chopped and well combined. Spoon the nut mixture over the apple mixture and serve. Serves 8.

NOTE TO SELF: One and a half of this recipe fits into my oval Corning-ware casserole dish. Also, I used raw almonds in the nut mixture, as well, which was terrific. Use up whatever you've got on hand! 

Apple & Sweet Potato Kugel

I threw this together in about 25 minutes. It's appropriate for any meal of the day, and you can toss in whatever leftovers you have and change up the spices for a whole new dish.

Ingredients
1 lb. sweet potato or butternut squash, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 apples, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1-12 oz. bag of broad egg noodles
4 eggs
1 c. sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 c. whole milk (I used 2%, actually)
dash of thyme and black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
Panko bread crumbs, sugar, and salt for sprinkling over the casserole before baking

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss vegetables with oil, salt, and pepper, then roast on a pan (in one layer) for about 20 minutes. Toss once during the roasting process. When the veggies are ready, they will have just started to brown. Once you've removed the veggies from the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.

While the veggies are roasting, cook your noodles until they are just cooked through. Beat the eggs and then whisk in the milk, sour cream or yogurt, and spices, and set aside.

Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish and create the kugel by layering noodles, veggies, noodles, veggies and so on. Then, pour the egg mixture over the casserole. Press the noodles into the egg mixture with the back of a big spoon. Sprinkle Panko, sugar and salt over the top and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top starts browning. Let sit for 20 minutes prior to serving.

Serves 6 to 8.