Roasted Garden Vegetables with Spaghetti Squash (Gluten-Free)

Spaghetti squash, eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

When one day's harvest is as bountiful as this, I have to get as many as I can in one meal, because I simply need to eat them all.   Seriously.  They call to me.  Here's what I came up with, it's simple, incredibly low calorie - only 231 for a very generous entree serving, and bursting with flavor.

Eggplant, yellow squash, plum tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion and garlic were cut up and went into a bowl.  A drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper were stirred through.

Then onto a jelly roll pan that I had coated with spray oil.  I slid it into a very hot (425F) oven and left it to roast for 20 minutes while I dealt with the spaghetti squash.

Scrubbed, halved vertically and seeded, I placed them cut side down and added 1/4 cup of water, covered tightly and microwaved on High for 10 minutes.  When they were tender, I drained them well and returned them to the microwave and set it to Keep Warm. My spaghetti squash were home grown and small, so I used two and cooked them in batches.

Meanwhile, the time was up on the veggies.  I gave them a stir and returned them to the oven for another 10 minutes.  I love those browned bits.  Brown = flavor :)  Then I dumped a jar of pasta sauce in a large pot and set it to heat to a simmer.  I used Prego Garden Chunky with Baby Portabella.  (Got it on sale, natch).  The browned, softened veggies were gently stirred into the pasta sauce.  Then the plating began.

I scraped the spaghetti squash into serving bowls with a fork. 

Added the sauce and veggies combination.

And sprinkled with grated parmesan.

This is so full of flavor from the roasted vegetables that it is completely satisfying.  Happy-Dance-in-the-Chair good.  I had planned on serving bread and butter with it and totally forgot.  Didn't matter.  Walt was so happy with the healthy-ness of it that he went out and bought some ice cream.  Because we had bananas to use up.  I didn't feel quite so guilty eating ice cream after this meal.

Cooking from my garden makes many meals very inexpensive.  For this meal I only had to buy oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, pasta sauce and cheese, all of which I already had in the pantry.  The spaghetti squash, eggplant, yellow squash, bell pepper, and tomatoes came from the garden = almost free.

Here is a link to the printable recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-garden-vegetables-with-spaghetti-squash-484654

And here is the recipe:

Roasted Garden Vegetables with Spaghetti Squash
1 (2 1/2 - 3 lb.) spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
2 yellow squash (or zucchini or one of each), cut into 1/4" slices
2 roma tomatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup onion, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (24 ounce) jar pasta sauce
6 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Toss all vegetables, except spaghetti squash with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Spray an 11x17" pan with nonstick and add vegetables in a single layer.  Use 2 pans if needed.
4. Place into hot oven and roast 20 minutes.
5. Stir and roast 10 minutes longer.
6. Place halved and seeded spaghetti squash cut side down in a microwavable dish, add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook on High 10 minutes or until tender.  If your microwave doesn't have a turntable, turn it often.  You may need to cook it in batches, but that's fine.
7. When the spaghetti squash is tender, drain well and keep warm until vegetables are done.
8. Heat pasta sauce in a large pot to a simmer.
9. When vegetables are roasted, add them to the pasta sauce and stir gently to coat.
10. Holding the spaghetti squash half in a pot holder or oven mitt, gently scrape the strands with a fork onto 6 serving dishes.
11. Top each dish with vegetables and sauce; sprinkle with parmesan.