Once again, the Queen of Leftovers creates a surprisingly delicious dish with a bit of this and that she has been staring at the last few days in the fridge. One small piece of thick ham steak, half a spaghetti squash and an avocado getting way too ripe on my kitchen counter. Just sounded like a Mexican meal in the making to me! This creation sort of reminds me of Ham-Mac-and-Cheese. But the generous handful of cilantro really takes it to a different flavor level. For those that dont like cilantro, just leave it out and sub in a little chili powder. This dish will be nearly as good without it, Im sure.
The Mexican Poinsettia stuck onto my guacamole was an afterthought, but I thought it came out very pretty! I quartered 2 San Marzano tomatoes and 1 thin slice of jalapeno pepper for my flower. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Ketogenic diets, but is not suitable for Primal-Paleo.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 of a medium, 7-8 long spaghetti squash (about 1 c. threads)
2 tsp. bacon grease
2 oz. onion, chopped (I used red onion)
4 oz. chopped ham
c. red bell pepper, chopped
c. chopped cilantro
2 oz. American Deluxe or cheddar cheese, shredded
2 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese (2 slices)
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350. Place the half squash cut-side down in a dish with water and microwave on HI for 13 minutes. Fork the threads into a bowl and save the shell to stuff. While it is cooking, Melt the bacon grease in a skillet and saute the onion until tender. Add the ham and bell pepper and saute until they are done/tender respectively. Turn off fire and stir in the cilantro. Add half the ham mixture to the bowl of squash and stir well. Add the American or cheddar cheese shreds and stir again. Spoon into the squash shell. Top with the 2 slices of Jack cheese any way you want to arrange/cut and place it. Top with the remainder of the ham mixture and pop into the 3350 oven just long enough to melt the Jack cheese, or about 15 minutes. Remove and scoop half the squash contents onto each plate and serve with guacamole or a green salad.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:
399 calories, 26.5 g fat, 14.45 g carbs, 2.65 g fiber, 11.80 g NET CARBS, 26 g protein, 1600 mg sodium (soak ham in water for 1 hour before frying to lower sodium)
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