Spaghetti Squash

I do like Spaghetti Squash. It is easy to cook and tastes like light pasta under any number of sauces!  OK – so it is healthy-ish as well… My fat arse has nothing to do with this post…………..

Source

Much…………

This squash comes out in shreds/fibers like angel hair pasta. I ALWAYS serve it with meat sauce because that is what I like. Other folks say butter or olive oil with herbs. Pretty much anything you serve over pasta goes with this ‘pasta substitute”. This veggie makes a great ‘side-dish’ or you can use it as a substitute in dishes requiring thin pasta. Think outside the box. Asian, Italian, whatever you want!

Spagetti Squash hits the stores in the fall (or grow it yourself like I am ATTEMPTING this year).  It is considered a “Winter Squash” so it will “keep” for a while.  A whole fresh squash will keep approximately 1-2 months on the counter and 1-3 months in a refrigerator.



I have read where you can cook this bad boy using:

• a microwave (which I am not into and you can read that business here)
• a slow cooker
• boiling
• or roasting

I roast in a moist oven.

Preheat oven to 375f.

This is just a post on how “I” do this.  There are other ways that you might find more useful for your situation.

• I cut the squash in half length-wise.  Make sure you have a very sharp, rather large knife for this task. Be careful.
• Scoop out the seeds and either discard seeds or save them, clean them and roast them to eat!
• Place cut halves, cut side down, in a heavy baking dish (9”x13”-ish) and pour a half cup, or so, of water over them. Cook until “just tender” – not mush.  This should be about 30-35 minutes if you preheated your oven proper-like.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.  You will need to handle the halves so be prepared with oven mitts or some other insulator.
• Rake a fork back and forth across the “meat” of the squash.  This will create/loosed the strands – and you will see why they call this “Spaghetti Squash”.
• Serve up with your favorite sauce!

Cooked/prepared Spaghetti Squash can be frozen for extended periods of time. Reheating it is as simple as microwaving or dropping in boiling water for a bit…