Last fall I went on a serious diet. No carbs. No sweets. Basically no eating whatsoever. The diet consisted primarily of hard-boiled egg whites, tuna, salmon, chicken and spaghetti squash…when I really wanted to treat myself. The diet lasted 2 weeks (if that). It just wasn’t practical! But since then I’ve became a lover of spaghetti squash. I usually eat it with a little butter and this seasoning called Lake Shore Drive Seasoning. Does anybody know what that is? It’s from this place called The Spice House, not sure if you can get it anywhere else! Anyways…recently I decided to try spaghetti squash with garlic, butter, parsley and basil and I loved it!
I’m not trying to say that spaghetti squash replaces regular spaghetti. No way. No how. But it’s a wonderful alternative, especially during the fall months when you can find the squash for fairly inexpensive. It’s satisfies you almost the same as a bowl of spaghetti would. I like it prepared this way in particular because the butter gives it a richness, the garlic gives it tons of flavor and the parmesan, basil and parsley make everything taste good. I recommend using both basil and parsley because they each add something different.
A note of warning: don’t burn the garlic!!! There’s nothing worse than burnt garlic. Yuck! Garlic browns very quickly so have the basil and parsley prepped and ready to go so that you can toss it in the second the garlic becomes fragrant. I have never burnt garlic before, but I burnt it slightly this time and I was really disappointed about it. I got over it though.
Here's what you'll need
Bake the spaghetti squash until a knife comes out easily, let it cool for 10 minutes
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds
Use a fork to remove the long strands
Heat butter and garlic over medium heat
Add the parsley and basil once the garlic becomes fragrant. As you can see my garlic burnt a little. I HATE when that happens
Add in the spashetti squash strands then season with salt and pepper
Toss it all together
Top with parmesan cheese
A nice healthy dinner! And spaghetti squash are so cheap!
Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
1 small spaghetti squash (about 3-4 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup finely chopped parsley or basil (I used both)
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake spaghetti squash for 60 minutes, or until a paring knife pierces easily through skin with little resistance. Let squash cool for 10 minutes.
Cut the squash in half, lengthwise. Remove and discard the seeds and use a fork to scrape the squash to get long, spaghetti-like strands. If the squash is difficult to scrape, return the squash to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Heat a large sauté pan with the butter and garlic over medium-low heat. Be careful not to burn the garlic. When garlic becomes fragrant, add parsley and/or basil, salt, pepper and spaghetti squash strands. Toss well, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and taste to see if you need additional salt.
The spaghetti squash should have a slight crunch, not mushy. If you like it softer, cover the pan and cook 2 more minutes.
Source: adapted from Steamy Kitchen
