Recipe Review: Spaghetti Squash

We are bad, bad vegetarians. We have never tried Spaghetti Squash although we've heard so much about it. It seemed slightly intimidating and difficult, so we just never even had it on our radar, until last week. 

I told Mr. that we were going to do it -- and by we, I meant I was going to put it on the meal plan and HE was actually going to do it. He had no qualms and so it was decided. It was actually quite simple! We followed the Spaghetti Squash Caprese recipe found here at The Pink Troll Kitchen blog. 

What ya need:

1 large spaghetti squash

2 cloves garlic

4 roma tomatoes

1 small handful of fresh basil

1 overflowing handful of fresh baby spinach  (we used a whole bag)

2 tbsp EVOO

3/4 cup = 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and Pepper

What ya do:

Cook the spaghetti squash by baking it in the oven at 375F for 1 hour and 20mins. Be sure to stab the squash a few times with a knife so it doesn't explode and flip the squash about halfway through. Apparently you can also microwave a stabbed squash for 10-12mins, but we used the oven. 

After it's cooked, cut the stem off the squash and slice it lengthwise. Scoop out all the seeds and use a fork to scrape out the 'noodles' This is where we were all, "Oh my gosh!!! This vegetable is magic!"

Scoop out the junk and watch the magic happen.

Put your noodles in a bowl and add minced garlic, chopped tomatoes, and torn spinach and basil along with the olive oil. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 3/4 cups of mozzarella and spread the mixture into a pie dish or a 1 quart baking dish. Use the additional cheese to sprinkle on top. Bake at 375F for 30-40mins or until the cheese on top is lightly brown. Add fresh basil on top and serve.

 

We also had corn... Because Big really wanted it.

This stuff was GOOOOOOD. The kids devoured it, we devoured it. We even fought over who got seconds. It was super filling and relatively simple. The hardest part was planning ahead and having time to bake the squash, but microwaving it seems to be a game changer. We'll try that next time and hopefully it comes out just as nicely. YUM!