Hello! I started this site with these huge lofty goals of posting recipes and all kinds of fun things throughout my 3rd year of med school. Weeeell, I’m a 4th year medical student now and just getting to writing my first post (whoops!). Third year of med school kept me busy to say the least! It was so much fun (and so much better than year 1 and 2), but I was also WAY busier.
4th year so far has been great. I finished taking my Step 2 CK (2nd written exam to be a licensed physician) and now am doing an away rotation at another school’s program. It just so happens (or maybe I planned it that way…) that one of my bestest friends from college lives there now so I am staying with her this month. We are guilty of hitting all the tourist hotspots, and also trying out some new restaurants and even doing some cooking at her apartment! So, I thought I’d mark my first post by sharing a fall recipe we made this week. It has cheese and wine in it so obviously it’s delicious. Hope you enjoy!
Spaghetti Squash Cheesy Bake
Roasted spaghetti squash. Yum!
Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash (any size. The one I bought was ~4 lb)
2 garlic cloves, diced
12 oz Trader Joe’s broccoli florets (no prep work needed? yes please)
1/2 large valdalia onion, coarse chopped
3-5 oz white wine (I used a Riesling. Need enough to cover the bottom of your saute pan.)
15 oz low-fat ricotta cheese
6 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 large egg, whisked
1 1/2 C jarred pasta sauce (I used Newman’s Own Sockarooni)
Olive oil
Spices: salt, pepper, basil, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes
- Stab a few holes in squash with a knife (be careful). Microwave for 3-5 minutes. This softens the outer shell of the squash and makes it easier to split open.
- Split the squash in half lengthwise. Take out the seeds using a spoon.
- Heat oven to 425 F. Drizzle olive oil over the cut surfaces. Sprinkle with salt/pepper/basil/thyme. Place squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Roast for 30-40 minutes until squash is tender.
- While the squash is cooking – heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium in large saute pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the garlic and onions and cook until onions are transparent, ~5 min. (My non-scientific way of testing the heat of the oil: add just a few onion/garlic pieces. If they make a nice sizzle sound, it means the oil is hot enough).
- Turn down the heat a little (low-medium) and add in the broccoli florets, wine, salt/pepper/seasoning. You can cover the pan with a lid and add a little more wine here, but be sure to stir often and make sure the broccoli doesn’t burn. Once broccoli is bright green and tender, take off the heat and let sit for a few minutes.
- Mix the ricotta cheese and egg together, then add to the veggie pan.
- With a fork, scrape out the strands of spaghetti squash directly into the pan with the cheese and broccoli. Add more basil/thyme and the red pepper flakes (I like heat so I add a lot!). Mix until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a 9 inch square baking dish. Top with a layer of tomato pasta sauce and a layer of parmesan cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is brown and bubbly, ~15-20 minutes.
Into the oven it goes!
Eat, Run, Study 