Spaghetti Bolognese

This is currently one of M’s favorite meals in the rotation and it’s pretty easy to play around with the ratio. Credit to Smitten Kitchen for the inspiration for a pasta sauce of tomatoes and a whole lotta butter.

Ingredients for a 200 calorie 2:1 meal:

50g spaghetti squash, cooked

40g strained tomatoes (this is also sold as "passata" and I use it as a base for a ton of tomato-based sauces and dishes)

11g 80% lean ground beef, cooked

11g butter

6g ghee

2g olive oil

Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, etc) and salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Spaghetti squash: slice squash and half and remove seeds with spoon. Brush with olive oil and roast at 400 deg facedown on a tray. Allow to cool, then scrape out “spaghetti” with fork. Store in Tupperware in fridge until ready to use. (Note: this also freezes well if you want to save some for the next batch of bolognese) Weigh out portions into serving or storage containers.

Beef: cook beef through in skillet on stove and weigh out portions into serving or storage containers on top of the squash.

Sauce: simmer strained tomatoes, butter, ghee, and olive oil together over low heat on stove. You can do this quickly, or you can let it go for a while (up to a half hour) if you want a thicker sauce. Add herbs and seasonings about 10 minutes before you're ready for it to come off the stove. Transfer, scraping the pot down with a spatula, into a bowl on a scale and divide that weight by the total number of servings you were going for. Weigh out each serving and pour on top of squash and beef in serving or storage containers.

Variations:

Need a higher ratio? More olive oil/ghee, in place of butter if you don't want the sauce to get too runny! Reduce the amount of squash! Need a lower ratio? Switch some of the ghee over to butter! Add more beef! Increase the amount of strained tomatoes per serving!