I've heard a lot about spaghetti squash and last night at the grocery store I decided to buy one. I've been reluctant to buy them because I'm not typically a huge fan of squash (I don't even like pumpkin all that much!). But I grabbed one on a whim, and today for lunch decided to chop it up, cook it and eat it.
I cut it into quarters (I don't know the "standard" size of a squash, but 1/4 of the thing gave me a little over a cup - about 50 cals) and microwaved it for 7 minutes, let it sit for 3, then scraped it out and added:
1/2 tbsp of butter (50 cals)
1 tbsp grated parm (20 cals)
sprinkle of garlic powder
sprinkle of onion salt
IT'S SO GOOD. I like the sweetness and the slight crunch. now I'm looking for different ways to eat it. I've got 3 chunks left to eat so...
Thank you for the idea. I have never tried this kind of squash before. I love yellow and butternut squash. I'm not a fan of zucchini squash, but I will definitely try your recipe I looked it up- spaghetti squash is low in calories, a good source of vitamin C and B6. It also is a source of potassium. I have issues keeping my potassium levels up so this will be a good thing for me. I was reading you can cook it all day long on low in the crock pot with a cup of water. Thanks again
Last edited by goal4agirl; 11-02-2011 at 03:22 PM.
Ah, I can't STAND substituting it for spaghetti. I think it's just the Italian heritage
I do really like it, though... once I stop pretending it's pasta. I usually cut it in half, bake for 45 minutes or so, scoop it out and put some spray butter and salt on it. I really like the Parmesan idea!
I make it with red sauce too, esp. meat sauce since I eat high protein/low carb so I can have spag squash but do better when it's with protein too.
I usually take the whole thing, pierce it with a knife in a few places (or it will explode AMHIK!) and nuke it for about 8 minutes, then let it cool a bit to handle and then cut in half. Much easier than trying to cut it raw IMO. I take the halves and roast them in the over for a while - you can cook it all the way in the microwave but I find roasting it gives it an even better flavor.
I just recently tried this myself and really like it. I cut mine in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds brushed the inside with just a little bit of olive oil and pepper covered it with saran wrap leaving one corner up to vent and microwave it for 7-10 min depends how big....ONLY put one half in at a time cooks much better. Then once done just take a fork to scrape out all of the "spaghetti” I then sprayed it with a squirt of spray butter and a sprinkle of parmesan/ramona cheese...YUMMM-0
I tried it with spaghetti sauce and did not care for it that way but love the taste of summer squash and attested the same so really liked it a lot.
I've always treated it like squash, not pasta. I may have to try it with sauce, but I do love it with a little butter and garlic. Of course, I like pasta that way, too!
I cut mine in half, scrape out seeds and bake it upside down on a cookie sheet for 45 mons or so. Then I use a fork to string it up and mix it with some homemade meaty tomato sauce and put it back into the shell sprinkle on some low fat mozz (supputo makes an awesome one) and put it back into the oven to bake it for another 15 mons or so. It is crazy yummy!!! I do both halves and DH and I share one half if it is a smaller squash with a nice big salad and a slice of seedy garlic toast. mmmmmm Then share the other half for lunch the next day. It is one of our fav meals.
I will have to try cooking it in the slow cooker. I make my sauce in the slow cooker. love my slow cooker
I generally pierce it and boil it whole, which keeps the insides kind of dry. I've read that others cut it in half and roast it in the oven -- again, about keeping the strands dry.
Its delicious with a fresh tomato sauce like a bruschetta, and also with salsa and cheddar or mexican blend cheeses.
There are recipes online for using it as the base of a pizza--I can't vouch for that but it sounds good to me--and I guess the strands get even more dried out. There is another if you google mock coconut cream pie squash and come up with what reads like a custardy type pie, but certainly unless you add coconut extract none of the reviews state that it actually tastes like coconut. It sounds good to me tho. Acorn squash is fabulous baked with cinnamon and apple slices, so why wouldn't spaghetti squash be good in a sweet recipe too?
I never microwaved it tho. Maybe I'll do that one day.
I also was looking just today for a mock rice pudding, thinking of using overcooked cauliflower, and actually found some recipes for that too. May just take a traditional rice pudding recipe tho and simply substitute the cauliflower for all that high calorie starchy rice!!!
I love spaghetti squash. It is very delicious! I use it like I would pasta, or sometimes, I bake it brushed with pesto and other herbs and sprinkle cheese on it. It's so good!
Spaghetti squash
