Garlicky Spaghetti Squash with Chard and Parmesan

I love spaghetti squash.  And I love garlic.  And butter.

Back in 2006 when I started on the South Beach Diet, I followed it pretty strictly.  Over the past few years I've made several personal modifications, though, to move more towards "real" food.  I never used artificial sweeteners; I so rarely added any sugar to my foods that I always opted for real cane sugar when I did.  Lately I've been using honey instead of sugar.  I used to use PAM cooking spray to minimize the amount of fat used for roasting, now I use olive oil in a mister.  And I used to use Smart Balance as a butter substitute on the rare occasion that I needed it, now I just use real butter.

Thus the butter in this recipe.  It seems like a lot (1/2 stick!), but this recipe makes about 8 generous servings.

Garlicky Spaghetti Squash with Chard and Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large spaghetti squash
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 smallish head of garlic (about 6 large cloves), peeled and minced
• 1 large bunch chard, washed, dried, cut crosswise into thin ribbons, thick stalks discarded
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1-ish cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish
• salted, roasted cashews (optional)

Directions:

• Wash the spaghetti squash.  With a sharp chef's knife, make several punctures in the hard squash "skin".  Place on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a paper towel.  Microwave on "high" until the "skin" is still firm but easily pierced with a sharp knife.  The squash strands inside should be tender but still have a firm-ish texture, not mushy.  This took 7 minutes for me.  Remove from microwave oven and let sit about 15 minutes until cool enough to handle.
• Slice off both ends of the squash.  Then slice the squash in half lengthwise.  Using a fork, remove the seeds and thin mushy fibers around the seeds and discard.  Using the same fork, scrape out the squash strands into a large bowl.  Set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and stir until soft and fragrant, about 45 seconds.  Add the chard and stir until just wilted.  Add in the spaghetti squash strands and several shakes of TSSS to taste.  Stir until squash is heated through.
• Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan.  Sprinkle with a little more parmesan and some cashews just before serving.  (I initially served my cashews on the side, but then ended up mixing them in.  Yum!)