Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Squash

I briefly thought about not posting this recipe. Not because it wasn't delicious (it was), but because I am very, very late with this post. To make it even worse, it was for Spinach Blogger Night, and my blogger buddy over at Three and a Half Stones to Go was a show-off who got hers up within days of the event. See that salad in the picture below...that's her amazing Spinach Salad with Sweet & Sour Curry Dressing.
 

Not that I'm competitive or anything, but I like to have mine up first. Ok, fine. I'm competitive with all the wrong things, like who can have the most paper clips sorted by size and style, or who can get to the house first carrying the most things, or who knows the most random song lyrics. It's stupid and my first step in recovering is to tell you that you HAVE to try her salad dressing. (Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want.)

I'll admit that when she told me she was making a sweet and sour curry dressing I was less than thrilled. (It's the name hun, it's not you.) I'm here to tell you today that Sweet & Sour Curry Dressing is my new love. Ironically the name that I found to be such a turnoff is really an accurate and delicious assessment. I used it to marinate some shrimp that I grilled and WOW. It was amazing.
Anyway... try it. Try it. Try it. Now on to my über late blog post. This recipe is a super easy and elegant meal option. The cheeses here count as your protein making it a great Meatless Monday option.

Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Squash
5 small yellow squash
1 tbsp olive oil
Basil paste
2 tbsp fat free cream cheese
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach
Slice your yellow squash in half from tip to tip. The next step is to remove the seeds. I used my medium sized Pampered Chef scoop and it worked well most of the time. Now the good news here is that if you slaughter the slicing and scooping process on a few of these guys, just slice them up and top them with sauce and a little bit of basil. The results are equally delicious.
In a frying pan, saute spinach with garlic and olive oil until it has wilted completely. Press with a fork to remove liquid. Add the cream cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

Place a dot of basil paste in the bottom of each squash. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until fork tender.

So I'm sure you are wondering how many calories something like this will set you back. It's not much actually. This recipe makes 10 servings and each serving is only 67 calories. This counts as a veggie and a protein. Eat two halves if you are going for a meatless dinner and pair it with an extra veggie. Eat one half if you are looking for lunch and fill it in with a carb. You could also be awesome and it it along side the amazing spinach salad pictured above. There are pictures of me licking the plate for a reason. It is an excellent combo.  

I talk a lot about basil paste and I really love the convenience. One day I will have an herb garden I'm able to maintain, that day is not today. Basil paste can be purchased at the store in a tube or jar or you can make your own by combining 4 cups of fresh basil in a food processor with 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Keep it in the fridge and you can add that fresh basil taste anytime.