Roasted Tomato and Basil Casserole

This was a difficult one for me to want to make given that I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes - little bit a flavor thing, but mostly texture.  The funny thing was it kind of just tasted like pasta with a fresh tomato sauce.  We broke it into 8 servings which meant that you really had to have something else with it (garlic bread, a vegetable side...something), but it's more filling than you would think.

From eatnourishing.com

Yields 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large spaghetti squash
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 cup butter
• 20 fresh basil leaves, chopped roughly
• 1 cup grated romano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds
3. Place cut side down on a baking sheet filled 1" high with water (mine isn't even 1" so I just filled it 3/4 high)
4. Bake for 30 minutes (you can do this earlier in the day before preping for dinner)
5. Remove from oven and let cool
6. Preheat oven to 400*F
7. While preheating, place butter into a 9x13 baking dish and place the dish in the oven to melt butter
8. When preheated, place grape tomatoes and garlic into the baking dish.  Stir to coat with melted butter and sprinkle with salt
9. Roast tomatoes for 10 - 15 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst
10. Remove from oven and carefully smash tomatoes with a fork
11. Use a fork to scrape squash into spaghetti-like strings
12. Gently fold spaghetti squash, basil and cheese into smashed tomatoes
13. Add more salt, as needed
14. If desired, top with additional cheese and place in the still warm oven to melt