While I have long been intrigued by spaghetti squash, I've never been brave enough to make it. I must have gotten a wild hair at the store yesterday, though, because I bought one, and then I proceeded to actually cook it.
Per the simple instructions attached to the squash, I cut it in half and placed it on a baking sheet.
It went into the oven on 375 for exactly one hour.
I wasn't sure what the spaghetti squash would taste like, so I decided to go a fairly generic route for the meat portion of the entree. I sauteed chicken and veggies with one of our go-to seasoning mixes, Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Seasonings: Original Mixed-Up Salt. It contains a variety of spices and flavors.
For the vegetable medley, I used onions, carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, and Anaheim peppers. It was sort of an odd combo, but those were the veggies in the fridge screaming, use us now or throw us out! They ended up complimenting each other perfectly.
After sixty full minutes in the oven, the spaghetti squash looked like this. In hindsight, I should have put foil under the squash halves to make for easier clean-up.
I picked it up with tongs, and simply scooped out the insides with a fork. As I scooped, the squash pulled apart to look just like spaghetti noodles, hence its name.
The squash was a perfect side dish to our chicken and veggies. It was a little crispier than boiled noodles would be, and took the place of noodles or rice in the meal. A fresher, healthier alternative! (You will notice we still got our carbs in the form of bread sticks. We never skip the carbs, unfortunately).
Even though the spaghetti squash took a little planning ahead because of the hour-long bake time, it was super easy and relatively maintenance-free. We decided it would probably adopt the flavor of whatever it is served with, so we could try it with a variety of dishes. And since we had a good first experience, I think we will!
