Sghetti Squash

rcillo219
rcillo219 Posts: 76 Member
I recently acquired my first Spaghetti Squash and was slightly unsure what to do with it, much like Will Ferrell and his hands in Talladega Nights. Well I baked it in the oven with very little EVOO and freshly ground black pepper. While that was baking I realized I had a small jar of marinated sundried tomatoes. I diced up a small eggplant and sauteed it in a little bit of the oil from the tomatoes and a little bit of diced up shallots. I then shred the squash and added it to the pan with a little bit more of the oil (maybe about 2 tablespoons have been used at this point) and cut up the tomatoes and added it in with some crushed red pepper. I put it into 4 containers so that I now have lunch all week and topped with a little shredded Parmesan (I'm Italian so I love me some Parmesan). Here's my problem: this was all at 10:00 last night. I have yet to taste it. My question to you all is if I do not like it, what are some of your Sghetti Squash recipes. I do not want to give up on it the first time around if I don't like it. I'm looking to get creative. Something other than plopping sauce on top and calling it a day. Ready...Set...GO! :happy:
«1

Replies

  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    My family (kids included) enjoys it prepared with baked potato toppings. A little light sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, bacon bits, chives and salt and pepper. Simple, easy and delicious.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    This is one of our favorite spaghetti squash recipes: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/01/cheesy-baked-spaghetti-squash-boats.html
  • buckeyegirl0103
    buckeyegirl0103 Posts: 194 Member
    I like it with just plain marinara sauce on it....
  • MlleKelly
    MlleKelly Posts: 356 Member
    I will eat half of a spaghetti squash straight from the oven with just a little EVOO, salt, and pepper on it, but I'm weird like that.

    For real, though...I'm a firm believer in letting foods speak for themselves and adding as little as possible. Next time, try roasting a head of garlic and mashing up a few cloves with the squash.

    You can find a mess of squash recipes on cookingchanneltv.com that are ridiculously delicious, with my favorite being Herbed Spaghetti Squash from Emeril (BAM!). http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/herbed-spaghetti-squash.html
  • rcillo219
    rcillo219 Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks everyone! I will look into and try all of your suggestions! I am always looking for new recipes to keep switching things up. The last time I did this I fell off the wagon because I was so bored with my same ol' recipes. I am trying my hardest to keep my food interesting and still healthy! :smile:
  • cinderoosky
    cinderoosky Posts: 7 Member
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE spaghetti squash.

    I have a good friend from college who is on this amazing weight loss journey and she replaced the love for pasta for spaghetti squash and it's helped her lose 50+ lbs.

    Lately my go-to has been making up a red sauce with veggies and throwing in some red pepper flakes and putting some shrimp in the sauce when I know I'm close to serving and having that over spaghetti squash. It's like a shrimp diablo pasta.

    I used to bake mine all the time but I've found that if I don't want to wait for it I just poke holes in my squash and microwave it in a bowl (filled with about an inch 1/2 of water) for around 10 mins (depending on the size).

    SO good. It's so good, the BF even approves.
  • queenbea77
    queenbea77 Posts: 404 Member
    I used to cook mine in the oven but have switched to doing it in the microwave. Cut the squash in half (lengthwise), scoop out the seeds and put in a dish with a bit of water (I add water to the center) cover and microwave for about 12 minutes - turning midway if your microwave doesn't turn. When it's cool enough shred the insides and mix in a casserole dish with diced cooked chicken, a can of diced tomatoes (I like the ones with peppers & onions), bread crumbs and parm cheese. Bake @ 350 for about 30-45 minutes or until hot through. YUMMY
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    It's really good cold after marinating in a spiced up vinaigrette overnight - however you like to spice your dressing, I also like it Greek salad style with Kalamata olives & feta crumbles - good room temp or cold.
  • PeauxPeaux
    PeauxPeaux Posts: 71 Member
    To me the cooking method makes a BIG dif; I cut the squash in half. You have to be REALLY CAREFUL and use a BIG OL KNIFE but if you can cut it in half and rub the olive oil on the insides, you get a nice roasty flavor that makes it marvelous. We like it best with kale and almond pesto or pecan and arugula pesto -- we make both really garlicky and a lot of good parm. :)
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
    I had some spaghetti squash caserole for lunch today.

    Bake your spaghetti squash, brownsome turkey sausage( I use honey suckle white hot italian sausage and remove the casings), add them together with some organic low sodium tomato basil sauce, about 1/2 cup of parmesan. Put everything into a baking dish, whisk 2 eggs, pour over top of squash, turkey cheese mixture and stir until egg is distributed. Bake for about 45 minutes on 400.

    This is one of my faves!! I grow spaghetti squash in my garden and can't wait to grow them again this year! I paid $8 for one at the grocery store the other day!
  • WillLift4Tats
    WillLift4Tats Posts: 1,699 Member
    My hubby bakes it, shreds it, then adds butter, lemon juice, egg white, lemon pepper, and a bit of garlic. Toss that, bake a bit more, and adds grilled shrimp, garnished with a bit of parsley for color. DELISH!
  • kwaz29
    kwaz29 Posts: 190 Member
    you HAVE to try this recipe: http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/

    it is honestly so so good...usually I make it once a week or every other week and eat it for lunch or dinner every day-that delicious, and I'm not tired of it yet. You can add in pretty much whatever toppings you want...sometimes I do mushrooms, other times pepperoni, green peppers, onions-whatever!
  • kennea483
    kennea483 Posts: 3
    That sounds AMAZING! I'll have to add that to my repertoire. I recently made spaghetti squash and topped it with a spaghetti sauce out of what I could find around my kitchen: 2 little cans of tomato sauce, soy chorizo, red bell pepper (diced), onion, garlic, oregano, a tomato, a splash of vodka. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes while I was doing other things--it was a big hit, and the soy chorizo added some protein and tons of flavor! Also, lots of yummy leftovers :)
  • ValeriePlz
    ValeriePlz Posts: 517 Member
    I do the recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook that puts spaghetti squash and black beans into tacos with a cilantro onion relish. It is amazing.
  • viktha
    viktha Posts: 36 Member
    Cut in half, deseed, place cut side down in the crockpot. Add a can of tomatoes and a box of frozen meatballs (we use turkey). All set in 4 hours.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I don't know ..eat real pasta????
  • farmers_daughter
    farmers_daughter Posts: 1,632 Member
    I wanna cook it in my microwave like some people have mentioned to save time, but I'm so very afraid of blowing up the microwave.

    I tried warming up a hard boiled egg and just about crapped my pants because I exploded it. LOL.
  • I_love_frogs
    I_love_frogs Posts: 340 Member
    My mom would make it and serve it to us with butter and Parmesan cheese. Sort of buttered noodles.

    I got my husband hooked on that too :) I usually make it and plop the sauce on tho nowadays, but i have made it where I baked it, shredded it, sauteed it, then added veg and meat to it so it was sort of like a primavera.
  • rcillo219
    rcillo219 Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks all! I just came back from my lunch break...drumroll please...it was AMAZING!!!!! :bigsmile: I was so nervous that I wouldn't like it, but it was very good. Now I am even more excited to try all of your suggestions! I am however going to try and grow some myself as the one I bought was $8 as someone else had mentioned. I am not paying that much every time I want a squash :noway: Thanks again for all the great ideas and input!
  • dmoses
    dmoses Posts: 786 Member
    LOVE spaghetti squash! Made it with shrimp scampi just the other night - YUM!
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
    The easiest is to bake it upside down. at 375 for 40 minutes. I spray it with some olive oil then spice it up with oregano, lemon pepper and salt.

    Let it cool upside down then use a fork to shred it up.

    I like to use homemade pesto on it after that.
  • corgarian
    corgarian Posts: 366 Member
    I actually made this last night

    I made a sauce with about 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 2tbs butter and some feta cheese. I added garlic, pepper, basil, oragano, red pepper flakes, and cocktail shrimp.
    I then tossed the spaghetti squash in, and it was a HIT in our house. I was hoping to have leftovers for lunch, but we ate it all.
  • 1FearlessFighter
    1FearlessFighter Posts: 114 Member
    were did you find spaghetti squash?? i remember supermarkets selling it all the time 2 years ago but now i cant seed to find any
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    I wanna cook it in my microwave like some people have mentioned to save time, but I'm so very afraid of blowing up the microwave.

    I tried warming up a hard boiled egg and just about crapped my pants because I exploded it. LOL.

    Just stab it through the shell with a big knife (like carving knife) 3 or 4 times in different spots and nuke - no problem, no explosion, lol

    Edit: Not the egg shell, the squash shell, :laugh:
  • AndreaEllen
    AndreaEllen Posts: 71 Member
    Cold with a vinaigrette!?!? Brilliant!!
  • rcillo219
    rcillo219 Posts: 76 Member
    were did you find spaghetti squash?? i remember supermarkets selling it all the time 2 years ago but now i cant seed to find any

    Found it at Stop n Shop which is my local super market. I hadn't seen it there before, and I've been checking for a while now, but then voila! There they were!
  • mlrodgers381
    mlrodgers381 Posts: 71 Member
    bump for later
  • nm212
    nm212 Posts: 570 Member
    Bump! I tried Spaghetti Squash for the first time last week and I loved it! I just added some ground turkey meat sauce to it and ate it like spaghetti! These recipes sound good though. I must try!
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    I eat it with asiago cheese sprinkled on top
  • Love_Is_My_Fuel
    Love_Is_My_Fuel Posts: 211 Member
    I love spaghetti squash..my favorite way to serve it is with a taco chicken slow cooker recipe I make...chicken, chopped peppers, shallot chopped, chili powder, low sodium taco seasoning, drained can no salt diced tomatoes...Let it cook on low for 8 hours and serve on top of baked spaghetti squash noodles