Italian Chicken Pesto with Spaghetti Squash

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sprinkle squash with Italian seasoning and place upside-down on a rimmed baking tray. Add about 1 inch of water.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes; strands of squash should easily pull away when scraped with a fork.

4. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage, uncovered, in the hot skillet until mostly browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Stir in broccoli and bell pepper. Reduce heat to low and add squash strands. Sprinkle basil, rosemary, and Italian seasoning, on top and drizzle with olive oil. Stir in 2 big spoonfuls of pesto, adding more to taste, followed by sun-dried tomatoes. Let simmer over low heat for 2 to 5 minutes. Serve.

   

Cook's Notes:

If you've never cooked with pesto before, don't think of it as spaghetti sauce. A little bit goes a long way! The jars are usually about 1/3 of the size of a spaghetti sauce jar. I'll typically be able to make 3 meals with 1 jar. Just throw the extra in the fridge and save for next time.

Be sure to avoid canola oil in your pesto sauce and sun-dried tomatoes. Also, keep heat on low once you start adding olive oil and pesto sauce.