Have you tried Spaghetti Squash yet? I have admit I thought the folks who eat this stuff instead of regular pasta were nuts! We'll call me nuts because I now love it and have replaced my noodles with this fabulous squash!
Does it really taste like spaghetti? At first, no. But don't bail out on me just yet. So I recommend you start with this recipe first and soon you will notice you might just replace all your noodles with the squash.
Take a Spaghetti Squash and cut it length wise. Be careful, it's like carving a pumpkin. Many times the hubs has bailed me out with his muscles since I seem to always get the knife stuck in it and don't want to end up in the ER.
Scrape out the inside loose strings and seeds wth a spoon.
Drizzle or spray a little olive oil over each inside half. Then place each half face down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the inside is soft. You can test with a fork.
When the insides become soft and the squash is cool, scrape them out with a fork. You will only be left with the hard rind. Toss the rind, keep the strands.
Yes it really does look like spaghetti!
Now for the sauce you can use any marinara recipe you like.
My favorite is:
3 tablespoons of McCormick Spaghetti seasoning mix
1 can of tomatoe paste
2 jars of baby food puréed carrots (I sneak this in for my kids)
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
At the same time boil up a pot of your favorite spaghetti pasta noodles...whole wheat, regular, gluten free, what your family is used to.
Now whatever portion size of noodles you eat, reduce the amount by about a quarter and replace that with the spaghetti squash strands. Pour the sauce on top and enjoy.
Each time you make this dish, replace your pasta with just a little more of the squash. You may find that after time you will no longer want the pasta and just the squash!
Did you know 1 cup of baked Spaghetti Squash is less than 50 calories? Yahoo!
I have never tried spaghetti squash but you made it look so easy to prepare - and 50 calories?!
ReplyDeleteTry it! Yes it really is easier than I thought it would be.
DeleteHappy Belated SITS Day! I hope it was a great one for you!
ReplyDeleteI've heard of people doing this before, and I will one day get up the nerve to try it. I've heard it's delicious!
Thank for stopping by Julie. Let me know what you think of it when you try it!
DeleteI make spaghetti squash a lot and I've been amazed that my 3 yr old actually eats it with no complaints. Having spaghetti squash as our "pasta" is my compromise to my husband's insistence that you can't eat spaghetti with garlic bread. I think that's an awfully carb-heavy meal, so instead of just having no garlic bread (my solution) we have spaghetti squash instead!
ReplyDeleteThat's great Sarah! Yes I am with your hubby... now I don't feel so guilty if I have a piece of garlic bread.
ReplyDeleteHi, Amanda! It's Courtney from The Brown Girl with Long Hair blog-- we became Twitter followers of each other via Follow Friday. I LOVE Spaghetti Squash and became hooked several years ago,although I haven't made it in ages -- thanks for the post, which reminds me I should start again! (I'm also following your blog now, and I look forward to reading more from you!)
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney! Yes I recall finding you on Twitter. Glad you found my blog. Going to check yours out right now. Thanks for stopping in. Glad to hear you like spaghetti squash too. Cheers!
DeleteI have never tried it - when I first heard about it I thought it was odd, but after talking to many folks that enjoy it, I have decided I should try it out...and now you have me convinced!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Spaghetti Squash. I LOVE IT! I never thought about mixing it with pasta, its so good on its own and I can eat the entire squash almost guilt-free. And I like guilt-free.
ReplyDeleteYum! I love spaghetti squash but have never mixed it with pasta. What a great idea to cut down carbs but still eat pasta
ReplyDelete