Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pie

 ~ 6-7 generous adult servings; gluten-free, nut-free, grain-free

Ingredients

• 1 very large spaghetti squash (or 2 small-medium), roughly 6-7 packed cups worth of “noodles”

• 2 cans pizza sauce, I use Muir Glen

• 1 medium yellow or sweet onion, diced

• 2 bell peppers (any color), diced

• 3 cups spinach, chopped (optional)

• 1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)

• 1 lb sweet Italian pork sausage

• 1 package pepperoni slices (4 oz), I recommend an organic brand like Organic Valley or Applegate Organics to avoid all the preservatives and highly processed meat

• 1 TBSP Italian seasoning

• 1 TBSP garlic powder (less if you’re not a garlic fan)

• 3 packed cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Prepare the spaghetti squash. To do so, wash the outside of the squash and poke 4-5 holes in it to help relieve pressure as it cooks. Place the squash into the microwave and cook for 6 minutes. Rotate the squash 180 degrees in the microwave and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. The exterior should be somewhat soft and flexible when the squash is done, but not so soft that it stays indented when you push on it. Depending on the size of your squash you may need to cook it for an additional 2-3 minutes. Once the squash is cooked, carefully cut it down the center lengthwise and let it cool for 10 minutes.

3. While the squash is cooking/cooling, prepare the onion and bell peppers. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, once hot add the pork sausage, break into bite size pieces and cook until browned.

4. Add the diced onion, bell pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook everything together for 6-7 minutes. During the last minute of cooking, add the spinach and cook just until it wilts. Remove from heat.

5. Once the squash has cooled enough to be picked up, scoop out the seeds from both sides of the squash. You will most likely get some of the “spaghetti strings” as well in order to get rid of all of the slimy seeds, which is ok! Next, take a fork and pull out the spaghetti strings by running the fork down the inside walls of the squash. You will pull the fork down from the top to the bottom boat part of the squash half (get really close to the skin of the squash). You’ll see spaghetti like strands come loose. Add the spaghetti strands (6-7 cups worth) to a large mixing bowl.

6. Dice 1/2 of the pepperoni slices into fours (stack a few and cut multiple at a time), add this to the large bowl along with all of the pork, bell pepper, onion mixture. Add the pizza sauce, optional mushrooms, and 1 cup of the cheese to the bowl as well. Mix everything together well (your arm workout for the day!).

7. Grease a 9x13 inch casserole pan with avocado oil or olive oil spray and add the entire mixture from the bowl to the pan. Top with the remaining cheese and whole pepperoni slices to resemble a pizza! Bake for 22-26 minutes depending on how you like your pepperoni done. 

**You can easily split this recipe between two 8x8 pans, freeze one before baking for an easy peasy dinner down the road (just make sure to fully thaw it in the fridge prior to baking and increase the bake time to 30-35 minutes).