Tasty Tuesday

Chicken Pesto Paleo Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

• 1 med/med-large spaghetti squash
• 3/4-1 cup Pesto sauce
• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts thin sliced or pounded to 1/2" thickness
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil ghee, or other cooking fat, to sauté the chicken
• Sea salt pepper, and onion powder to season chicken

Instructions

1. First, roast the squash (you can do this step a day ahead of time, or during your meal prep and simply store the cooked squash in the fridge until ready to use.
2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment.
3. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise using a large sharp knife. Scoop out (I use a large spoon) the seeds and strings, then place face-down on a foil lined baking sheet.
4. Roast in the 425 oven for about 20 minutes or until the squash can be pushed from the outside a bit with your finger. Do not overcook or it will be mushy! Once you remove the squash, lower the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Allow the squash to cool enough to handle, and, using a fork going lengthwise down the squash, remove spaghetti strings from both sides of the squash and place in a large bowl.
6. To "drain" the squash, squeeze once or twice between paper towels to absorb excess moisture, as you would with frozen spinach, for example. This step is important to get the texture of the dish right, no mushy, watery spaghetti squash!
7. While the squash roasts, you can prepare your pesto using this recipe, or prepare it ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to use.
8. While the squash rests, cook the chicken. Heat a large skillet over med/med-hi heat and add your cooking fat. Sprinkle the chicken lightly with salt, pepper, and onion powder on both sides, then add to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the center. Remove from pan to a plate, and allow to cool a bit. Once cool enough to handle, slice or chop into bite size pieces.
9. In a casserole dish, gently toss the spaghetti with the chicken and pesto to fully coat, (about 1 cup)
10. You'll have enough extra pesto - don't drown the spaghetti squash in pesto! Save it for another use.
11. Put the casserole dish in the oven for about 10 minutes, or enough time to fully heat through and blend everything. Remove and serve!