SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH TOMATO RAGOUT & GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS

WAIT A MINUTE! You come back here! Before you turn up your nose at this one, let me just tell you, it is DEElicious! If you haven't broadened your horizons yet to include spaghetti squash, you really need to put this on the shopping list this week. Squash is coming into season, and our local supermarket had it dirt cheap yesterday - 2 for $1! 1 decent size spaghetti squash will feed 4 people. As I was eating this tonight, I actually forgot it wasn't pasta under the tomato ragout! I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this dish and will definitely be making it again and again. Very "figure friendly" too. I'm not sure what the WW points on this would be, but it can't be very high. If someone wants to figure it out and let me know, I'll gladly edit this post to add them.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH TOMATO RAGOUT & GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS

2 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Bottled Italian dressing

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
Olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, chopped (I used canned and it was perfectly fine)
2 Tblsp chopped fresh basil (I used dried, but just a tad less)
Fresh spinach leaves (optional)

To begin. Take each chicken breast and insert them individually into a ziploc baggie (1 breast for each baggie). Squeeze out excess air and seal it shut. Take your metal meat mallet and pound each chicken breast to about 1/2" thick. Open bag and pour in about 1/4 cup of Italian dressing. Seal it back up and put it in the fridge to marinate for about an hour.

Now let's work on that squash. It has a tough outer skin, so use a very sharp, sturdy knife to cut it lengthwise. I usually jab the knife in and then rock it back and forth until it is mostly cut in half. The stem area can sometimes be a stickler, but I cut the whole thing around and then just break it the rest of the way by the stem end. Spray your baking pan with cooking spray. Lay the squash in the pan, cut side down. Pour in just a little water, maybe 1/2 cup. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until a sharp knife can be inserted through the skin with only a little resistance. Remove squash from the oven and set aside to cool just enough to be easy to handle. (I didn't wait for it to cool. I flipped it over, stuck a meat fork in one end to hold it steady and started scraping with my dinner fork. It will shred and look just like spaghetti. Place the shredded squash in a separate bowl and keep warm.

Heat a George Foreman grill. Spray with cooking spray. Remove the chicken from the fridge. Remove chicken breasts from marinade. Grill as many chicken breasts as your foreman grill will handle. Mine is small and I can only do 1 at a time. But for me, each chicken breast only took 5 minutes total. They were sooooo juicy and tasty!

Meanwhile (while you're waiting on the timer to beep for the chicken in the grill), heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and peppers in oil until tender and opaque. Add garlic and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and the basil and cook until the tomatoes are bubbly. Optional: add fresh spinach leaves and stir until wilted. Top spaghetti squash with tomato ragout and a big pinch of shredded mozzarella.
I was able to make this ragout while the chicken breasts were grilling. This is one QUICK supper! I loved it for that too!