Sunday, January 10, 2010

Spaghetti Squash Recipe

These are the ingredients I decided to use:
spaghetti squash
cherry tomatoes
sweet peas
garlic
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
Pecorino Romano cheese

I am so glad the squash came with a sticker that had cooking instructions. First I cooked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour. The sticker said 45 minutes but even after an hour I think I should have cooked it a little longer. It had a little crunch to it. I liked it fine but I assumed it would be mushier. And pulling it out was totally cool.

I heated 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and added three crushed cloves of garlic. I added cherry tomatoes (maybe 1 or 1 1/2 cups) that were quartered. Then I added 1 1/3 cups of sweet peas. I stirred in the spaghetti squash hoping it would cook a little more. Finally I added the kosher salt (I like salt so I added a bit more than most people probably would) and 5 Tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese.

I topped it a little cheese and served with some left over steak.

The calorie count as best I can tell is about 150 calories for about 1 1/2 cups and it makes about 6 servings.

Husband's Verdict: He told me he had no interest in eating it. He had never heard of it but he said he would try it. It smelled so good, he had to. He ended up eating a big helping of it and said he would eat it again. He even thought it would be good for his dad to eat (who is diabetic).

My Verdict: Yum (I was also really hungry so it may have tasted better than usual). I am excited to cook this in another way to. It is also a TON of food for very few calories which I am always looking for. I am a volume eater. I did not get this recipe from any source, it just sounded like things I wanted to eat today.

Fun fact: while researching things for this recipe I discovered that to burn off 8 ounces of spaghetti squash, you only have to walk for 7 minutes. Giddy up! That is what I like to hear. So why did I work out so hard today?

This was some work for me for the past day or so but it was great fun. I picked up more magazines today with healthy recipes in them. I will look to see what tasty adventure next week will bring. Hope you have a super week. I am so tired, I will read and comment on your blogs tomorrow! Sleep tight.

16 comments:

Johanna at The Baker Twins said...

Best Bud verdict - YUMMY! It just needs to be a little bit softer. You can cook this for me any day! :)

Deb said...

It's been awhile since I made spaghetti squash. Maybe I'll put on the menu for this weekend!

Christine said...

nice job.
good food...and we are ALL volume eaters lol.
have a good sleep, I intend to do the same.

Alison said...

Looks like it turned out great, glad you liked it, like I said one of my favourites. Did you cook it in a water bath in the oven? that helps it cook a bit faster and did you leave it whole or cut it in half first?It takes longer cooked whole. I also have friends who microwave it and swear by it.

Laurie said...

Hmmm...I think I'm going to have to try that. Looks good!

Ak said...

Looks delicious. I don't think I've ever had spaghetti squash before though. My inlaw's grow a certain kind of squash that I LOVE. Squash is so great because it is so low calorie!

Mrs. S. said...

I love all squash. My spagetti squash also comes out crunchy. Hmmm post again if you get this one worked out. I like the simplicity of your meal. I may try it this week with chicken.

Anonymous said...

That looks really good! I've had spaghetti squash before when my mom made it but haven't cooked it myself.

Squash is so yummy; I ate a ton of acorn squash this fall. I just baked it and mashed it up with a little butter, salt, pepper, and brown sugar!

S. said...

When I'm really craving meat I love to make a super meaty tomato sauce and dump it over spaghetti squash. I feel like I'm getting a huge filling spaghetti dinner without having to account for the calories of the pasta!

Unknown said...

I like to bake it a long time to get some browning- it sweetens it up when it starts to caramelize- YUM! :)

Glad your healthy meal was a HIT!

Unknown said...

Isn't it good? I haven't made that in a long time - I'll have to pick one up at the store tomorrow.

antgirl said...

I find I like it better cooked slower in the oven than in the microwave. I haven't made one in awhile. I ought. :)

Matt said...

If my wife told me she was making spaghetti squash, I know my negative reaction would be the same as your husband's, maybe worse! But I'm sure she'd talk me into trying it.

Diane Fit to the Finish said...

Sounds and looks fabulous. My hubby had the same reaction the first time I made it. I have only done it twice but really should do it again!

Thanks for the review.

Khris said...

I would love to try this spaghetti squash but I don't event think I have seen this here in Australia....we have lots of pumpkin and squash. We eat pumpkins as a vegetable not in pie like you do...but squash is another vegetable for us too. Khris

wildfluffysheep said...

woot to new recipes.

but i am still not sure on this one.. the books you sent me have gone missing. i hope i havent left them at home!