Anyone ever cook spaghetti squash? What sort of sauce do you put on it?

[applegrove]

[davsand]

1. You can sauce it just like a pasta.

Basic marinara is good, so is Alfredo. Personally, if it is just me, I have been known to toss it with a good olive oil with garlic and grated Parmesan or Romano. Asiago is nice too.

Enjoy!


Laura

[murielm99]

2. Yes, you can use your favorite tomato pasta sauce, or

you can use store-bought pesto and some Parmesan or Romano cheese to top it. It is delicious, and I did not remember to buy any at the farmer's markets this fall.

[nolabear]

3. Any good old tomato based sauce. Don't spare the Parm.

It's actually quite tasty, one of nature's little miracles.

[PassingFair]

4. Just butter, salt and pepper.

Also great with onion, olive oil, black olives
and feta cheese.

I don't eat carbs, so I eat a LOT of spaghetti squash.

[freshwest]

5. Sounds good. Do you bake, boil or steam it? IDK if it's meant to be scooped out or baked whole.

I was surprised the other day by seeing instructions on some small pumpkins in the store, saying to bake it whole then scoop out the seeds and the inner flesh for making pumpkin pie and toasted pumpkin seeds. Baking seemed like less work than the method I'd been taught, and probably end up tasting sweeter.

[PassingFair]

6. I used to bake them....but it takes a lot of time and doesn't taste any better....

than doing them on the stove.

I cut one in half (sometimes they are really
hard to cut open, and I've seen some recipes
that call for a short time in the microwave
to soften the squash), then I scoop out the
inner flesh and grind it right down the disposal.

I put some water in a big frying pan then I lay
the halfs, cut side down in the water, turn it up,
cover the pan and cook for about 15 or 20 minutes.

I turn off the heat, pour off the water, turn the
halves over and let them cool a bit.

Then, I take a tea towel, rest the squash in it,
and use a fork to pull the strands away from the
sides of the squash.

Leftovers keep pretty well, too.

On Edit:

The tea towel is just so my hand doesn't get burned....

But I've heard that it doesn't freeze well.

[freshwest]

9. Thanks so much. Now I know how to do it. I've always wanted to try them for low carb.

:hi:

[nadine_mn]

10. I found a great recipe in Diabetic Living that just calls for you to microwave

it. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, pierce the outside with a fork (like you would with a potato) place one half upside down and nuke it for 6-7 min. Then use a fork to shred the squash (really looks like spaghetti) and serve with your favorite pasta sauce

Here is the recipe:

http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/recipe/turkey/turkey-apple-meatballs-with-spaghetti-squash/

I served it to my husband with vegetarian meatballs - he liked it as much as his favorite pasta and real meatballs. I was too chicken to try it - I am a very picky eater. What I love, I eat too much off - but vegetables scare me with their healty taste (lol)

[freshwest]

11. Thanks, I just hope I can handle cutting them up. Pre-cooking should help.

[zanana1]

13. My husband is diabetic, too.

He's VERY picky about his food. This sounds like something we could both eat. As long as there's tomato sauce on it, he'll devour it. Do you know about the calorie count for this veggie?

[nadine_mn]

14. no on the calorie count - but then I am pretty sure

its on the low end. Maybe the site has the calorie counts? I suck at counting calories... the calories in vs burned can get depressing - lol.

There are some FANTASTIC recipes at diabetic living. There is one for these little open faced BLT's that are amazing. You make a little dressing (instead of using mayo) of 1/3 cup light sour cream, a little minced garlic, a little chopped seeded tomato, a little chopped red onion, a 1/4 tsp paprika and mix that together. Toast some thick cut whole grain bread - then add some spinach leaves, the sour cream mixture, tomato slices, a slice or two of turkey bacon, then top with a little cheese and broil until the cheese is melted.


Its been easy to get my husband to eat healthier when I dig these recipes out!

[zanana1]

15. Thanks for that!

It sounds yummy.

[madinmaryland]

7. It's Microwaveable. Mix with brown sugar and butter!! MMMM!!

[PassingFair]

8. I've seen microwave recipes as well, but I haven't tried it yet.

I bet it is just as good microwaved....

[GoCubsGo]

12. Cooking in in the microwave steams it, just like with any veggie.

That is how I usually cook it. It's quicker, and the squash is nice and moist. BTW, cooked spaghetti squash also freezes well. Just place it in a ziplock bag, squeeze out all the air, and place in the freezer. It keeps about 3 months--a great thing for us single people who don't necessarily want spaghetti squash every day for a week straight.

I like my spaghetti squash with tomato gravy and Romano cheese, or with olive oil, garlic, basil and feta cheese. The latter is also good with sliced or halved black or Kalamata olives and/or chopped fresh tomatoes.

You can roast the seeds like you would pumpkin seeds. I usually just toss them out for the squirrels.