Sausage-and-Bean Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This began several days ago, and then, just stalled.

Ugh. . .the sauce didn't taste at all as I had hoped.

I tried it again this morning and realized the beans absorbed all the good flavors, leaving it SO bland, that I almost trashed it.

Then I analyzed a bit, and realized it needed flavorful fat: -butter-, texture: -mushrooms-, acid: -tomato paste and lemon-, and for a pinch of sweetness: -coconut sugar-, smokiness: -cumin and paprika-. . .Voilà! . .Now here we are, at the end of the second try!!

NOTE: I did NOT use sour cream (shown) in the first photo. . .

Finely chop the vegetables shown, then sauté, in 2T EVOO with 4 oz. mild Italian sausage, removed from its casing:

2 big celery stalks

2/3 bell pepper

1 med. onion

3 big cloves garlic

Then stir in a can of rinsed, drained garbanzo beans that have also been finely chopped.

.~.           .~.           .~.           .~.           .~. 

Today, I sautéed these ingredients together, in the order given, with enough time to brown the mushrooms well before adding the acids.

3T butter

2T dark thick Balsamic vinegar

12oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

sprinkled with pepper, garlic salt and smokey ground cumin

1-2T tomato paste

1 lemon - zest + juice

I partially cooked the spaghetti squash by first washing and drying it well. Then in one area, I made several cuts (stabs if you will) to allow steam to escape, then wrapped the it in paper towels, and put it, with the cut side up, in the microwave. I don't remember now how long I cooked it, but I know I cooked it at 60% power, checking it every so often until it was starting to soften. When I squeezed it, it would 'give' a little.

At this point, let it cool a bit on the counter. Later, cut it in half, lengthwise. Scoop out and throw away the seeds and dark strings, leaving the lighter colored 'spaghetti.' With a sharp knife, cut through the spaghetti, down to the outer shell, so you don't have big long strings. Scoop this into a glass baking pan and cover with the sauce.

It's shown here, ready to be chilled, then baked tomorrow in a 350° preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes. Sprinkle some shredded, hard-flavorful cheese on top before baking if you'd like. . .Lin