Spaghetti Squash?

Ok, those of you that know me...know that I love spaghetti.  I could eat spaghetti or pasta every night of the week - if my family would let me. I even eat it cold out of the fridge the next day (so good).  But we all need a little variety in our lives and we need to focus on eating healthy.  Eating healthy doesn't have to be bland or boring.  Living in South Carolina, we are fortunate to have great farm fresh veggies and I use them alone or in pasta all the time.  So cutting, chopping and sauteing is pretty much an every night occurrence of some kind in our house.

I have a new favorite veggie that I want to share with you.  It's not new exactly, but it is a veggie that gets over looked often.  It's that big orange-ish, yellow looking thing you see in the grocery store and just keep on walking past it. Or you look at it and think...not.  It's spaghetti squash!

There are two main reasons to eat spaghetti squash. One, it is super easy to cook and two it is delicious!  That get's 5 stars in my book.  If you are trying to watch your weight or take off a few pounds or just enjoy good veggies - this is the one.  Did I tell you that this is easy?

I haven't figured out how to tell if a spaghetti squash is ripe or not.  I just pick one off the shelf and haven't been disappointed yet.  Set your oven to 400. Cut your squash in half.  Scrape those little seeds out, shake a little salt and pepper on the squash and put the two halves on a greased piece of foil on a cookie sheet.  Cook for about 40 min.   Let the squash cool for 15 min or until its not to hot to handle.  Take a fork and scrape out the inside.  It will shred into a whole bunch of spaghetti looking squash.

I usually scrape the squash right into a skillet of shrimp that has been cooked with a little olive oil and sea salt.  Cook it all together for a few minutes.  You can keep it clean with just the olive oil or add a little butter if you want (go ahead, it won't hurt you) and sprinkle with a good pecorino romano cheese additional salt and pepper. Serve it with a side salad and you are good to go.

You are going to be surprised at how good this is.  And, it heats up great the next day!

So next time you are at the grocery store, buy a big old spaghetti squash, cut it in half and throw it in the oven.  It cooks all by itself and when it's done, you can go from squash to plates in about 15 min.

Let me know what you think!

Happy and Healthy Wednesday.

Paula

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pie

Ok...not only do I love refinishing old furniture...but secretly I'm a foodaholic.  I love food. But not just any food, I'm talking good food.  I'm talking healthy fresh ingredients and food that is good for you.  Yes, I make green smoothies and I found a juicer that didn't break the bank and I get in a good juicing a few days a week.  Lately, I've sort of been on a Paleo kick.  You know....the diet of the cave man, our ancestors.  Basically, fresh fruits and veggies and lean meats - no grains, dairy or beans (there's a bit more to it, but you get the idea).  My new obsession right now is spaghetti squash.  I shared one of my favorites a couple weeks ago.  After this post one of my readers asked me to share more healthy recipes. So today I want to share a new favorite dish!

It's called spaghetti squash pizza pie.  Work with me here...  This recipe comes from Paleomg.com.  If you want some great paleo recipes, give her site a try.  But in all honesty, if you are looking to lose some lbs and you want to eat healthy you have to have food that tastes great. Otherwise you are going to raid that fridge at 10pm at night and feel horrible the next day.  Go ahead and raid it, but raid it on good food.  Healthy eating doesn't mean carrots, celery and salads. You just have to plan what's in your fridge a bit more.

This recipe came from my sister in law who got it from her sister in law who is a crossfit rockstar!  I ate it for dinner on the first night, breakfast the next day....and it was on my mind for the rest of the day....hoping I had some left for dinner. Yep, I'm kind of like that. :)

Start with a whole spaghetti squash. Cut it in half and lay it face down on a cookie sheet.  I have two here cuz I like to make extra and store it in the fridge for later in the week.  Bake at 400 for about 50 min. 

Once the squash has cooled a bit, scrape a whole squash into a large bowl.  In a skillet, brown a 1lb of Italian sausage and a yellow onion.  Add a small jar of pizza sauce (this kind of weirded me out cuz I'm not a jar/sauce person but look for one with the least preservatives - I used Ferrara's which is good). Add a tsp of dried basil and a little salt and pepper. Add the sausage mixture to the squash and then beat three eggs and add to the bowl. Grease an 8x8 pan and dump it in.  I know....  this does not look very good at this point...but keep the faith!

Bake it at 400 for 50 minutes.  Let it rest for 5 minutes before you dive in!

It's like your own little squash lasagna!  YUM! Serve it with a side salad. It's a great healthy snack too.  

Enjoy!

Ingredients

         1 large spaghetti squash

         1 pound italian sausage

         ½ yellow onion, diced

         1 cup pizza sauce 

         1 teaspoon dried basil

         salt and pepper, to taste

         3 eggs, whisked

Instructions

.                Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

.                Bake spaghetti squash for 50 min

.                Once squash is done cooking, remove threads and place in a bowl.

.                In a skillet, add italian sausage and onion. Cook until pink no longer remains in the sausage and it is broken up into pieces.

.                Add pizza sauce, dried basil and salt and pepper to the sausage and mix well.

.                Add sausage mixture to squash.

.                Add whisked eggs to the baking dish and mix everything together until you can no longer see the eggs.

.                Place in oven and bake for 50 min.

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Paula

P.S. I don't claim to be on the Paleo diet strictly.  I use cream in my coffee, I love cheese and I'm not giving up pasta.  I am just trying to make better choices for my body along the way and want to share what I'm learning.

Linking with

Katherine's Corner

Butternut Squash - The Best

One of the many things that I love about fall....are the vegetables that are in season.  Aside from spaghetti squash, which you all know that I love, there is butternut squash.  If you aren't making this at least once a week....you need to start.  Butternut squash is that big ugly squash that most of you walk on by because you don't know what it is or you don't know what to do with it :)

Winter squash is a super food!  It is one of the richest sources of plant based anti-inflammatory nutrients such as omega 3s and beta-carotene - which is important for a strong immune system. The problem, is that most people don't know how to cook it.  If you cook and season squash right, there is nothing better. It is also low in calorie so you can go back for thirds on this stuff and you are still on the skinny plan.

The good news is that you don't have to buy it whole like you see it above. Almost all grocery stores have butternut squash cut up and ready to go in the produce section.  It comes in a bag or in a big plastic container.  Which means...no prep time.  All the work is done for you. You can cook it as a side, put it in stews or make an awesome power packed lunch soup.

Ignore the fuzzy picture here and try this.  Take a little olive oil in a pan.  Chop up a vidalia onion and simmer for a couple of minutes.  Then add the whole bag or container of butternut squash.  Add a cup or so of chicken broth until the broth starts to come up the sides. (Not overtop of the squash, just enough to allow the squash to softly boil). If the pan begins to get dry as you cook, add some more chicken broth. Add some crushed sea salt.  Stir the squash up as it's cooking.  I like to take a spoon and kind of mash it up a bit so you have some soft and chunky pieces.  You will know its done when all the pieces are tender and most of the broth is gone.

You can also make soup from this if you want.  Just add the mixture above to your blender and blend it up. If it's too thick add more chicken broth.  Hit puree and you are ready to go.  This couldn't be any easier.

2tbsp Olive oil
1 large Vidalia onion
Chicken stock
Sea Salt
Butternut squash

Try it.  I promise you will love it.

Happy Healthy  Eating!

Paula

Friday Feature........

Looks good right?  Well my Friday feature for today is this little veggie shredder.  You can make spaghetti like noodles with your squash or zucchini and it is super easy to use.  I tried one of the big spiral things and it was too cumbersome and a pain to clean.  This is a piece of cake and does just as good a job.

 You just cut off the end of a zucchini, stick it in this little shredder and turn.  :)

I put a little olive oil in the pan, chop up a sweet onion and add a little garlic.  Shred up some zucchini and you are good to go.  YUMM!  

I got this "Veggita" at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Go get one and stir up some carb-less pasta! 

Have a healthy and happy weekend.

Paula