Spaghetti Squash

Some of you may have seen one of these little beauties sitting in the bin with all the other squashes in the grocery store and had no idea what it was or how to even attempt to cook it. I know this is true because when I was at the grocery store I was checking out a lady walked right on up to me and said "excuse me, is that a butternut squash?" to which I politely told her "No ma'am, it is a Spaghetti Squash!" of course then the question was riddled with disbelief and doubt but "and how do you cook that?!!"

This is a stock photo of a spaghetti squash.

They are super simple to cook and make a very filling meal. I use them when we want something filling and yet healthy. I make my own marinara sauce. That will have to be another post for another day. :)

To start you cut the top where the stem grew out of off and then just a little bit of the bottom too so that it is easier to cut through. Then slice it down the middle. There are seeds in the center, so scrape these out. Now once this is done drizzle a little olive oil salt and pepper inside the cavity. Roast in a 425* oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your squash.

They come out looking like this..

.
 Slightly brown and smelling wonderful. The next step is to take a fork and scrape at the inside until you have this:

Then top it with your own marinara sauce. I never include meat in my marinara sauce, I personally think it distracts from the flavor. Some people really like the flavor and if you are one of them by all means go right ahead!

I then top it with a little cheese. I personally like this one for this dish:

The squash looks like this just before I put it back under the broiler to melt and slightly toast the cheese.

I forgot to take a finished picture after it came back out of the broiler. It smelled so good and everyone was so hungry that we sat right down and ate.

I serve this with a little french bread and a salad but its really not needed since the squash is the veggies and covered with marinara sauce only makes it that much more vitamin packed. Each half squash is considered a serving so I simply buy 3 for my family of 6. We each have our own half and are filled up afterwards.

You can top Spaghetti squash with any of your favorite spaghetti toppings. It is a perfect meatless dish because you do not really notice the meat missing. delightful. My whole family enjoyed it, And I hope your's does too.