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This Easy Homestyle Spaghetti is an Antonino Italian family recipe.  My mother in law is kind enough to allow me to share this family recipe with all of you.  Of course I made a few small adjustments to make sure it’s Paleo and Whole 30 friendly.
This post is dedicated to grandma Antonino who recently made her decent back to heaven to join her soulmate, papa “Nino”.  This recipe comes from my husband’s great grandma Antonino who made her daughter in law, grandma Antonino, practice this recipe over and over until she got it right.  Grandma Antonino then taught this recipe to all of her children, including my mother in law.  Each Antonino sibling has their own slightly different version of this recipe, this is my mother in law’s version that she has taught to me.

If you have never cooked spaghetti squash before have no fear, it is simple!  I even put together this simple step by step picture for you!

The hardest part about spaghetti squash is making sure you don’t over cook it.  As soon as you can scrape the “noodles” out of it, it’s done.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to set my timer and overcooked it.  I then find myself trying to squeeze all the excess water out and it’s a huge pain!  Just make sure to keep and eye on your baking squash.

 Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey 
• 1 lb sausage of choice (our favorite is the sweet Italian)
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 46 oz can 100% tomato juice
• 1 12 oz can tomato paste
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• small sprinkle paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons 100% pineapple juice

Instructions

1. Cook all meat and place in crockpot. If your sausage is precooked, simply slice it and place in crockpot with the ground beef or turkey.
2. Saute chopped onion in your 2 tablespoons of butter or ghee. Once onions become translucent, add your chopped garlic and cook for another minute. Then add this to the crockpot as well.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to the crockpot and cook on low for 8 or more hours.
4. In your 8 hour you want to cook your spaghetti squash.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Slice your squash length wise and split in half.
7. Scrape out seeds and place in oven for about 30 minutes or until you can pull squash “noodles” apart with a fork.

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