I entered another contest guys! If you’re interested, go to chefsroll.com/opportunities/tillamook-big-cheese-chef-competition. Make sure to try my recipe first. If I have never gave myself kudos before, well now it’s a first.
This is good. REAL good and it turned out so tasty because of the bold flavor of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Read on friends.
Can you use pasta for this recipe? Sure you can. I’ve made notes for any changes that may suit your families taste buds a bit better but one thing you cannot change is the Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Why? Tillamook Sharp Cheddar has a “bold sharpness that is never dull” (right off their website!). Plus it is from cows not treated with rBST. The flavor of this dish is all in the Tillamook cheese sauce. You may want to DOUBLE the CHEESE sauce recipe for anyone in the family who likes a saucier dish.
Ingredients
¾ cup thick tomato sauce (I used some left over thick marinara)
1 Spaghetti squash *Microwave 5 min per lb. Allow to cool. Cut lengthwise. Remove seeds and shred down lengthwise with a fork to create “spaghetti strands”.
3 long carrots *I like doing this by hand but you can use a spiralizer. After peeling the outer skin, using your vegetable peeler, continue to shred long thin shreds like thick pasta strands.
1 small green bell pepper chopped
2 cups broccoli florets, cut small
1 green onion, chopped
½ cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes
2 large or 3 small plum tomatoes sliced thin
1 – 2 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese Sauce *NOTE: Double the next 6 ingredients for EXTRA cheese sauce.
2 TBS herbed butter (or you can use simply unsalted plain butter)
2 TBS flour
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
14 oz Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese slices (the slices make things easy for melting)
First things first:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Spread the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 13x10x3 baking dish.
In a large bowl, gently combine the squash, carrot shreds, pepper, broccoli, green onion, and sun dried tomatoes.
Pour the squash mix over the top of the tomato sauce.
MAKE THE CHEESE SAUCE:
-Melt the butter over medium heat
-Whisk in the flour, salt and nutmeg
-Slowly add the milk, continue to whisk and cook 2 minutes.
-Add 14 oz of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar slices, breaking up the slices as you whisk them in. They will melt easily.
-Once all the cheese has melted, remove from heat and pour the Tillamook cheese sauce over the top of the squash mix.
-Mix the seasoned breadcrumbs with the Romano cheese. Set aside
Top the squash and cheese with the plum tomato slices and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper to taste. *Not much salt is needed as it’s in your cheese.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mix over the top and bake until light brown about 30 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes. ENJOY!
#tillamooksbigcheese, #recipecontest, #meatlessmeals, #sharpcheddarcheese, #norBST
Joanne
