Garlic Butter Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Tomatoes

A meatless Monday meal.  This actually got two thumbs up from the hubs.

Garlic Butter Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Tomatoes


Ingredients:

• 1/4 stick butter
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 medium-large spaghetti squash, cooked and de-seeded
• 1 large bunch lacinato kale, washed, dried and chopped 
• large handful of grape tomatoes, halved
• pink Himalayan sea salt to taste
• shredded parmesan
• diced avocado
• salted, roasted pepitas

Directions:

• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and stir until soft and fragrant, about 45 seconds.  Add in the cooked spaghetti squash strands and toss until coated with garlic butter.  Add the kale and cook for a few minutes until wilted.  Add in the tomatoes and salt to taste.  Stir until the tomatoes are heated through.
• Plate and top with parmesan, avocado and pepitas.  Serve warm.

Today I served it over some leftover brown rice and beans.

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!)

Baked Spaghetti Squash

This is very similar to a baked pasta, except with spaghetti squash in place of the pasta.  Not only is this loaded with veggies, it's scrumptious as well.

You can add whatever you want to it, including, but not limited to, mushrooms, spinach, zucchinis, and bell peppers.  You can also replace the ground turkey with sausage for a flavorful kick.

Baked Spaghetti Squash


Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 16-ounce tub (2 cups) of reduced-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 cup of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
• small handful of fresh basil leaves

Directions:

• Using a sharp chef's knife, carefully cut several small slits around the outside of the spaghetti squash.  Place the whole squash into a large microwave-proof bowl with a couple tablespoons of water.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Remove and carefully flip the squash over.  If your microwave does not have a turntable, you'll want to rotate it 180 degrees as well.  Microwave on high for another 3 - 5 minutes until the squash is soft but not mushy.  The skin should give a little when you push lightly but firmly on it.  Set the squash aside for 30 minutes to let it cool.
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the garlic and stir for a minute.  Drain the fat and set the meat aside.
• Once the spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, cut it in half length-wise with a sharp knife.  Scoop the seeds out with a spoon and discard.  Then, using a fork, scoop out the squash strands directly into the saute pan with the browned meat.  Discard the squash shell.
• Add an entire jar of prepared marinara sauce to the meat and squash mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to combine.
• Spoon half of the squash mixture into the bottom of a baking dish.  Layer all the ricotta cheese over it.  Then sprinkle on 3/4 of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Pour the remainder of the squash mixture into the dish.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until bubbly.  In the last minute, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan on top and return to the oven so the cheese can melt.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Top with a chiffonade of basil leaves.

Pasta with Spaghetti Squash Marinara

This is a great way to add extra veggies into your diet.  I normally make this with ground turkey instead of the garbanzo beans, but today I decided to go vegetarian.  You could also add diced zucchini or frozen chopped spinach to increase the veggie intake as well as the plate color appeal.  :-)

Pasta with Spaghetti Squash Marinara
I made this one up myself based on what I had in the pantry.

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• whole wheat bowtie pasta
• 1 jar no sugar added marinara sauce (I use Trader Joe's)
• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained
• salt & pepper (optional)
• fresh mozzarella balls, diced
• freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

• Prepare whole wheat bowtie pasta according to package instructions, to al dente.
• Using a sharp chef's knife, pierce the skin of the spaghetti squash in numerous locations.  Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 8 - 10 minutes, turning it over halfway through.  Let sit until cool enough to handle.  Cut in half, lengthwise, and remove seeds along with the dark fibrous strands and discard.  Using a fork, scoop out the spaghetti-like strands and put them into a large sauce pan. 
• Add marinara sauce, garbanzo beans and season with salt & pepper as needed.  Toss to mix everything together.
• Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
• Remove from heat and fold in the mozzarella.
• Ladle over pasta.  Top with freshly grated parmesan.