I Can't Believe It's Not Spaghetti

How To Make: Spaghetti Squash

Before I begin, I want to reiterate: I love carbs.  Bread, cakes, rices, pasta, it doesn't matter which one, I love them all.

Unfortunately, my thighs don't love them as much as I do.

While I will never. ever give them up, I do occasionally look for a substitute that I can rotate into my weekly dinner options.  

Well, okay...monthly dinner options.  Let's not get too excited here.

On first glance, you have to admit...it looks just like spaghetti.  In fact, I bet spaghetti squash could be one of the easiest ways for parents of youngsters to get their little guys to eat their veggies.  Of course, the older they are, they might be able to recognize the difference.

Spaghetti squash has a little bit of crunch.  That's my only complaint and the only factor that truly separates it from being a legitimate all the time replacement for spaghetti.  There isn't much that can be done to soften it up anymore than following the below directions: 

What you will need:

Spaghetti squash

Olive oil

Salt 

Pepper

Garlic powder (optional)

Spaghetti sauce

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees.

We start with a simple, lone spaghetti squash.  One squash should serve 3-4 people.

Alright, I'm going to make a confession.  The squash pictured above is a different one from the one pictured below.

That is the product of starting a recipe and randomly taking pictures rather than thinking the process through and taking pictures of each step.

I just didn't want you to be confused.

You're welcome.

Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  If you are anything like me, the first time you do this you are going to think you are doing everything wrong.  Hopefully, this post will help you.

Get rid of the guts.  You could reserve the seeds and bake them, but I'm not too into squash seeds, so I didn't. 

Drizzle a little olive oil on both sides of the squash, then salt and pepper them as well.

Using a rimmed baking pan, drizzle olive oil liberally all over.*

*Note: This step was left out in the making of the above spaghetti squash.  For the above time, I poured about a cup of water in the pan.  After trying it both ways, I like the olive oil way better.  It gives me less of a chance to spill hot water everywhere.

Not that that has happened before.  

Place the squash flat side down on the pan.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

The exterior of the squash should be much softer now.  Do not flip the squash  over with your bare hands.  If you're patient, take the pan out of the oven and wait about ten minutes.

If you're like me, and you're still working on the patience thing, use an oven mitt or two spatulas to flip the squash over.

Using a fork and knife, use the knife to hold the squash in place as you drag the fork against the body of the squash.  Little spaghetti like pieces of squash will begin to fall off with the movement of the fork.  If you find that it is not happening so easily there is probably one of two problems taking place.

1. It needs to bake a little longer.  Flip the squash back over, and throw that pan in the oven.

2. You didn't buy a spaghetti squash and you are trying to make something impossible happen to some other creature.

I really hope it isn't #2.

Place your spaghetti in a bowl.  Sprinkle some more salt and pepper and some garlic powder for extra flavor.

Make sure you scraped as much of the spaghetti out as possible.  There should be an empty squash carcass by the end.

Serve with anything that you would normally eat spaghetti with.

Again, for a once in a while substitute, spaghetti squash is pretty awesome.  If you're counting calories it should save you about 200-400 calories from your dinner.

Leaving just enough calories in your daily allotment to get a latte, and maybe even a cookie.