Marinara Spaghetti Squash

Hello blog, it's been awhile.

Today let's take a look at this mysterious squash that seems to have gained a lot of fame lately. Which is awesome because it's delicious.

 You may or may not have seen this in the store, but most people don't even know that it exists. Which is very sad because you can make all kinds of amazing meals from it. The simplest of course, is in it's name. The spaghetti squash is a delicious way to make...Spaghetti! For new SS people, it may not seem so simple as to how to use it, so let's take the easy way shall we? And if you're anything like me, it might just blow your mind. I rarely make noodle spaghetti, and it's my favorite food! I'm just addicted to this squash.

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 First, pick out a nice plump squash from the store. It shouldn't feel mushy or soft or have any smell really. Actually if you put your nose up to it, it should smell like pumpkin. One moderately sized one feeds my daughter, my fiance, and I for a good dinner and left over night with my recipe. If you want to eat just the inside without adding sauce and meat and other veggies (like we do) then one half of the squash feeds one person well. So make sure you pick one or two squashes that will do for your meal preference.

 Take that nice squash home and wash  the outside of it. You want to do this with just about every produce you get anyway. Now you want to cut the SS in half long ways, or horizontally. This does take some effort and muscle so be careful and use a big sharp knife.

Now that you have it opened, scoop out the seeds like you would a pumpkin.

Be careful not to scoop the actual flesh of the SS, that's the part you need! I find a regular kitchen spoon does the job just fine.

 Now that the middle seeds are all scooped out, you can either toss them or pick them out and roast the seeds. Just like you could any other large squash or pumpkin seeds. add a little seasoning to a cookie sheet and broil them in olive oil until golden brown. They are a delicious before dinner snack!

 Place your two halves of your squash FACE DOWN. Trust me, I've made that mistake before and although some people say it's nice to roast the squash on both sides, if you're baking it. This time we are broiling it and you want the inside of the SS to be nice and toasted and soft. Broil your squash for about 45-50 minutes on a cookie sheet, or until a butter knife can go through the squash without effort.

In the meantime, start cooking up what you're making with the squash. Here I am browning some lean beef, with onions and tomatoes and garlic.

When the SS is done roasting, it will be extremely hot, so let it cool off a bit until you are able to handle it without burning yourself. It doesn't have to be cold, just able to handle it.

While mine is cooling, I drain my meat and add my marinara sauce to the meat/onion/tomato/garlic mix. Add some fresh basil, rosemary, oregano, and sage and let it all simmer together.

 When it has cooled some and can handle your squash, take a fork and start scraping the inside of the inside. The flesh pulls away in strands easily and looks like dun dun dun.. spaghetti noodles! Now that's why this is spaghetti squash! I had a hard time not eating it all right there, it's good just fresh out of the broil and is already packed with flavor. But again, not what I'm doing for this recipe.

You should have lots of "noodles" in one half. sometimes if I'm not using the meat-sauce mixture, I just use the halves as bowels and top them off with chopped tomatoes and seasonings and fresh mozzarella cheese. It's delicious that way too.

Now continuing the recipe, I keep keep getting side tract because of how many amazing way there are to eat this squash!

 Scrape out all of the "noodles" an add them to the sauce and mix it up. You can let it simmer a bit to let the squash absorb the flavor or just start serving.

 And now you're done! Serve with some garlic bread and top with your favorite pasta cheese and enjoy!
Trust me, with as many ways to east this squash, and the dozen of recipes you can make with it, you will not be disappointed!

Quick Cooking: Tofu Pasta

I've been writing this "cook book" for a couple years now, but I'm probably never going to get it published. Procrastination and all that. But I think I can post some of the recipes here to get them out. They are fabulous for a SAHM who needs to cook for herself and little ones, or even just for a two person meal. They are quick, simple, and can be done even with minimal cooking skills.  So let's try this one first..

Tofu Pasta:

Ingredients:
- Thin spaghetti noodles
- Extra firm tofu
- Spinach
- Mushrooms
- 1 tsp diced garlic
- 1 tsp fresh Basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Shredded cheese

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package.

Meanwhile:

2. Slice mushrooms, dice up garlic, and cube your tofu - get all of your ingredients cut and ready.

3. Heat a saucepan on medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil

4. Sautee garlic for 30sec before adding mushrooms

5. Sautee until lightly golden

6. Add tofu and continue to sautee for about two minutes - don't let your tofu get crunchy, just firm and gold

7. Turn down heat and add spinach

8. Add half a cup of the hot noodle water and steam your spinach

9. turn off heat and your noodles should be done.

10. Do Not Drain Noodles. Add your noodles (using tongs) straight from the pot to the sauce pan.

11. Mix together the noodles with the tofu and veggie combo

12. Sprinkle with remaining olive oil and the fresh basil

13. add to serving dish and top with whatever shredded cheese you like. I use a mixed Italian  which includes mozzarella and it is lovely having melted cheese mixed in.

delicious - happy eats!