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Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
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Slice your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. For easy cutting, feel free to stick each squash in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften it up just a tad. The knife slides through way easier this way!
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Next grab a lipped baking sheet or a rimmed baking dish.
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To prevent sticking, rub the cut side of the squash with a teeny bit of olive oil or simply place a little water inside your baking dish. Both work great!
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Place inside a baking dish or atop rimmed, lined baking sheet [some liquid will escape] and roast face-down for 30-40 minutes, or until tender and easily pierced with a fork.
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Cooking time will vary a bit depending on the size of your squash, and the once rock-hard exterior of the squash will be visibly softened.
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The squash can be roasted and stored in the fridge for a few days if you’d like to meal prep and plan ahead for a speedier dinner. You can also make the whole shebang one weekend and pop it in the fridge until about 30 minutes before dinnertime. Wind up with a little bit leftover? It reheats marvelously the following day! Now let’s get back to the recipe!
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While the squash roast, cook chicken via your favorite method or squirrel away leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. I poached mine.
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Chop chicken into bite sized pieces and toss with pesto.
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Set aside.
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In a small pot, heat a drizzle of olive oil to medium-high heat and sauté your bell pepper and carrot for a few minutes until tender. Next add the spinach and pesto chicken and stir to wilt the spinach.
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Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Next add your cheese to the hot mixture. Mix a little over half the cheese in with the chicken and veggies and save the rest for topping.
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To stuff the squash you can simply pile on your pesto chicken and veggies or fluff the squash first with a fork before stirring in all you yummy mix-ins so there’s yummy squash in every bite!
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Top with the rest of your grated cheese and cover the baking dish in foil, leaving a little room at the top [like a tent!] so the cheese doesn’t stick.
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Bake at 350 degrees F for around 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
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Garnish with fresh parsley and/or basil leaves and dig in!