Beef, Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes

Spaghetti Squash Tamale Pie

Sometimes reading a recipe will kick off and idea for a new recipe with similar ingredients. This one started as a Spaghetti Taco Pie recipe and quickly morphed to a spaghetti squash tamale pie. It isn’t exactly a tamale pie since there isn’t any cornmeal in sight, but most of the flavors are in it. I used the spaghetti squash to form the crust rather than cornmeal and added a little riced cauliflower to the meat mixture to fill in for the whole corn. The result? A wonderfully delicious pie that has all the flavor of a tamale pie and is lower in calories and carbs.

Spaghetti Squash Tamale Pie

Ground beef, lean, 16 oz
1 packet Taco Seasoning
2 1/2 cups Spaghetti Squash, (about half a medium-sized one)
1 cup Cauliflower, frozen and thawed or freshly cooked
1/2 cup Onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped Black Olives (optional)
1 cup Mexican Style Four Cheese
1/4 cup Queso Fresco
1 can (15.5 oz) Diced Tomatoes,
1 tablespoon Chili powder
1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
1 large Egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the spaghetti squash, remove seeds and use about 1/2 for this recipe. Put the rest away for another dish. Put thawed cauliflower in a food processor and process for a few seconds until it is like rice. Set aside.

In a large skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil and saute the onions. Add the grounded beef and use a spatula to break into small pieces while cooking. Add your favorite taco seasoning and mix well. When lightly browned, add the diced tomatoes, cauliflower, chili powder and cajun seasonings. Stir well and cook for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together the spaghetti squash, egg and half the cheese. Add a bit of salt, pepper and a little cajun seasoning. Spray a baking pan or pie pan with cooking spray and spread the spaghetti squash into it, smoothing it to form the crust and go up the sides of the pan. Fill this shell with the meat mixture. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the top and break the Queso Fresco into crumbled over that.

Use spaghetti squash mixture to form the crust or shell of the pie. Bring it up the sides as high as you can.

 

Spread the meat mixture evenly over the “crust”. If you want a thicker layer of the meat mixture, you can add more beef to it. It won’t increase the carbs, but it will increase the calories.

Bake for about 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Let cool for about 10 minutes then serve. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories; 345.4 Fat: 23.6 g Net carbs: 8.7 g Protein: 21.3 g

Posted on 8/26/2013