Pumpkin pasta and a Baked Spaghetti recipe makeover
I love the fall festiveness of Trader Joe’s but unfortunately I don’t revel in all of their fall foods as much as I used to. Most have too many additives or too much sugar for my usual grocery shopping tastes. Case in point: their autumn pasta sauce which has too much cream and sugar for my liking. I decided to combine the idea of their sauce and a pumpkin pasta sauce recipe I saw on IG with a cottage cheese twist for some more protein. I’m sure I’ll still tweak this further and will come back to edit the ratios, but I think it’s pretty simple to make and definitely gives you all that pumpkin goodness. Plus it’s easy to prep the sauce ahead. I think the final dish needs some greens though so don’t skimp on the kale or spinach (never mind all the nutritional value you’d be leaving behind!)
Pumpkin Pasta
Ingredients:
Pasta of your choice - whole wheat, chickpea or lentil ideally. I’ve also done it with cheese ravioli or tortellini which everyone naturally likes!
1 cup thawed frozen or cooked butternut squash (I buy bags of frozen at Whole Foods).
1 small 5 ounce container of whole milk cottage cheese
3/4 cup of canned pumpkin
3/4 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup jarred tomato sauce of choice (I like Rao’s)
3/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
3/ 4 tsp of ground sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups of fresh spinach or kale (will sautee in ghee or avocado oil).
Assembly:
Mix all the sauce ingredients in either a blender or use an immersion blender in a large enough bowl. Adjust to taste with the nutmeg, sage, salt and pepper. Cook your pasta to al dente, reserve some of the pasta water to thin the sauce if needed. Sautee greens of choice in a large skillet towards the end of the pasta’s cook time. Add the drained pasta into the greens and combine with pasta sauce. Heat thoroughly if you’re starting from prepped ahead refrigerated sauce. Thin with some of the reserved pasta water if needed. Top with grated parmesan cheese if you wish!
Lightened Up Baked Spaghetti
My family loves Salt and Lavendar’s recipe for Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti. I’ve made this a ton for meal trains, new neighbors and my own family. It’s a little heavy and not exactly healthy but with several swaps you can really balance the nutrients and ingredient profile for the better. The original recipe is linked here: https://www.saltandlavender.com/million-dollar-spaghetti/ but below you’ll find my updated recipe makeover that I think tastes just as great. Don’t let the length of it overwhelm you. It’s actually pretty simple plus easy to prep earlier in the day to break it up. I often make it and have it covered in the fridge ready to pop in the oven later for dinner!
Ingredients:
1pound of uncooked whole wheat, lentil or chickpea spaghetti
1 pound ground beef (or 50/50 with ground chicken)
2 - 24 ounce jars of sauce. I like Rao’s.
1.5 -2 cups of shredded mozzarella for the top. Depending how cheesy you like it!
Optional veggie add in’s (a chopped bell pepper, chopped spinach, or mushrooms)
Cheese layer:
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 small container of whole milk cottage cheese (about 5 ounces)
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup of grated parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 if ready to cook it, but I usually make it in stages. Earlier in the day I’ll grate the cheeses and chop any veggie add ins. Once you’re ready to make, get the pasta boiling to two minutes less than the package time and the meat browning (with any veggies you added in to this step) in a skillet. If using any ground chicken you’ll need to add some oil (avocado or ghee ideally) or it will stick.
While those are cooking, mix up the cheese layer by combining the softened cream cheese, small container of cottage cheese, garlic, italian herbs and grated parmesan. Using a fork works to mix this thoroughly. This can be stored in the fridge if made earlier in the day but allow it to soften a bit before assembling the dish. Drain pastas and browned meat.
Combine the skillet meat mixture, the pasta and jarred sauce in a large bowl. Sometimes I use a huge mixing bowl or you can use your original skillet if it’s large enough. Toss to combine using large spoons or tongs. Spread half of this mixture on the bottom of a 9x 13 glass baking dish. Then spread the cheese filling layer evenly over the pasta. Start with clumps and spread with a fork or knife but don’t worry if it’s not a perfect layer. Lastly, add the second half of the spaghetti mixture and spread evenly, topping with your grated mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 375 with tented foil for 25-30 minutes, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes to brown a bit. Let sit 5-10 minutes if possible before serving.
I serve this with salads for us usually and some fruit for the kids. Parker doesn’t care if there’s some spinach mixed in but Chase will notice and eat around it but both easily eat it with chopped peppers or mushrooms mixed in. It’s a very forgiving dish to add/subtract and modify veggies or meats. Please let me know if you try and and how your family likes it!