Another rainy day, which is perfect for a warm and comforting meal before starting a full week. I LOVE summer squash noodle meals! So much so that I actually prefer summer squash noodles over regular pasta noodles. They are tasty, less filling and a great way to sneak some vegetables into your meal. Top it with a regular spaghetti sauce enhanced with fresh tomato pieces, garlic, basil and diced onion and you have a delicious seasonal meal straight from the garden! I’d like to thank Taproot Farm for the delicious summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash), red tomato, garlic and fresh basil and Melanie’s Medleys for the plain cream cheese! You can pair this meal with a side salad and garlic bread (my favorite is to cook the garlic bread and then broil the top to get it nice and crispy!). It’s the perfect comfort food, date night food or any night of the week food! I hope you all love this recipe as much as I have – enjoy and happy cooking!

Serves 2 People

Recipe by © Alysha Melnyk 2018

Kitchen Tools:

Oven, Preheated to 400°F

Zoodle Spiralizer (I use a handheld one)

Sheet Pan

Parchment Paper

Dry Measuring Cups

Knife

2 Sauté Pans

1 Sauce Pan

Ingredients:

3 Medium Zucchini, Spiralized

3 Cups Spaghetti Sauce of Choice (I used one from my local Italian market)

1 Large Tomato, Diced

1/2 Cup Onion, Diced

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1/2 Cup Fresh Basil (Packed), Torn

2 Tablespoons Plain Cream Cheese (I used Melanie’s Medleys)

2 Italian Sausages of Choice, Diced (I used fully cooked)

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Parmesan

Optional for Serving: Garlic bread and side salad.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Noodles, Topped with a Spaghetti Sauce with Tomato Chunks, Garlic, Onion and Fresh Basil, Paired with Italian Sausage, Fresh Parmesan and Ground Black Pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. *Tip: if you are making frozen garlic bread, cook that first and set aside, then broil on high to warm/brown right before serving.*
3. Line sheet pan with parchment paper.
4. Spiralize zucchini noodles and place on parchment lined pan.
5. Bake for 10 minutes (*Keep an eye on these and make sure they don’t brown/burn. I had a few browned edges but nothing widespread). This helps dehydrate the noodles and make them less watery.
6. While zucchini is dehydrating, combine spaghetti sauce, diced tomato, onion, minced garlic, torn basil and plain cream cheese. Heat on medium to warm everything and meld the flavors together, stirring occasionally.
7. After zucchini noodles are cooked, transfer to a sauté pan and drizzle with olive oil.
8. In a second sauté pan, add diced sausage pieces and a drizzle of olive oil.
9. Cook zucchini noodles until warmed and sausage until browned, both on medium/medium high heat.
10. To serve, place zucchini noodles on a plate. Top with sauce and sausage pieces, sprinkle with parmesan and black pepper, garnishing with extra basil leaves. Serve with garlic bread and side salad if desired.
11. Enjoy! 🙂