Sweet, Savory and Healthy

In honor of the summer weather that has finally begun, I thought I would share one of my favorite summer foods: spaghetti squash (also known as summer squash-fitting, right?). It is very easy to make, tasty and best of all… healthy. It’s sweeter than regular pasta. During summer you will find it frequently in our fridge.

When you purchase it, this is what it looks like this:

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Next you cut it in half (as seen below) and with a spoon, fork, hands or combination of the three de-seed it like you would a pumpkin.

Now take these two halves and places them (hollow side down) in a shallow pan. Personally, I fill the pan with a very little amount of water to make the squash a little moist. When I say a little, I mean very little… just enough to cover the bottom, as shown here.

Now stick them in the oven for about an hour. Start checking it around 45 minutes to see how soft it is. The outside shell should be slightly squishable and the insides peel out easily. On average I leave it in for an hour. After cooking it should look like below. Use a fork to dig out the inside. It should come apart looking like spaghetti.

Hollow out each side. We typically put it in a large bowl and serve it family style so each person may get as much or as little as they would like. We like it with just marinara sauce with maybe some cheese on it. We serve it as a side with chicken or fish or sometimes we eat it as a main dish served with a marinara sauce with turkey or venison meat (it depends on hunting season). You may also buy hog casings for sausage making and cook veggie sausages.

When my brothers friends come over and eat it they don’t even realize it isn’t pasta. And some say it’s the best “pasta” they have ever had!

Do you have any good recipes worth sharing? I love new suggestions!