It's all in the Balance...

So to counter act all of the turkey, gravy and stuffing stuffing & more stuffing we plan on having TOMORROW (can you believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving!???), we decided to make a super light dinner last night all while using some of our Farmer's Market goodies.  We used spaghetti squash...

and Tuscan Kale...

To create this:

I started by splitting the spaghetti squash in half and removing the seeds, spraying a baking sheet with non-stick spray and placing the squash cut-side down to roast for 40 minutes at 350.  Once the squash is cool, you run a fork through it and the squash comes out in 'spaghetti strands' (hence the name:)  I baked the squash on Monday night, so dinner was pulled together in about 20 minutes last night!

Next was the kale.  Kale has a tendency to be a little on the tougher side, so in order to tenderize it a bit I sliced it into super slim strips and boiled it in a pot of salted water for 3-4 minutes.  It made SUCH a difference in the texture!

Next, I sauteed some garlic & red onion in a little olive oil in a pan for a minute before tossing in the kale.  I added in some salt, pepper and a little nutmeg and let the kale saute for a few minutes.  Then it was time to top THAT with the spaghetti squash...

I threw in a little more salt, pepper & garlic powder (cause there's ALWAYS room for more garlic flavor:) and let it all warm up together.  A little toss with a handful of grated cheese and this was COMPLETE!

Butttttt....this dish needed a little something to fill us up, right???  So I topped the pasta with one of my favvvoorrrite things to add to...well, ANYTHING:  Toasted white beans!  I let them dry roast in a pan on low heat, shaking the pan ever so often, until the beans dry out a bit and begin to split.  That's when you know they're gooooood....

A layer of spaghetti squash & kale topped with crispy white beans and we were in business!

Now, I must admit....as 'happy' as I was that we were having a 'lighter' dish to balance out the week a bit...I wasn't exactly SUPER excited to have this dish last n.  That was until I tasted it!  It really was soooooooooooo flavorful and soooooooooooo good!!!!!  I think the key was layering EACH part of the dish with a little flavor!  A little garlic, nutmeg and grated cheese all went a looong way into making this a HAPPY 'light' meal, rather than a dreaded one!  Love that! 

Sighhhhhh....so is this one of the best days of the whole year or what???  You could almost SMELL the turkey and four day weekend from here:)  hahahahahhahaha...I'm sure I'll have some things to show you here & there over the holiday, but I'll also be pretty elbow deep in turkey & Christmas decorations over the next few days:)  I hope you guys all have a WONDERFULLLLLLLLLLL holiday!  And don't forget to stop for a minute to count your blessings for the day!  We ALL have many reasons to be Thankful!