?? About Spaghetti Squash

How do you fix spaghetti squash? I'm really tired of it just buttered and salt & peppered. Need some new ideas. TIA Carol

Spaghetti squash is my new favorite thing. I cut it in half (I buy a small one) scoop out the seeds. Wrap it in plastic wrap, tight. Cook for 5-6 minutes in the microwave. It turns out perfect. I use a fork to get the strands out. I just use salt, pepper and a tad of lf margarine. Sometimes I put a sprinkle of lf parmesan on it. The next time I fix it, I'm going to try some canned tomatoes, with basil, onion and garlic.

Yummy! I hope you get some good ideas for me, too.
Cherie

Carol, make my shrimp scampi recipe and toss it with spaghetti squash.

John

John’s Shrimp Scampi

½ lb. (2 sticks) butter, chunked
juice of 1 lemon
½ cup white wine
½ cup chicken broth
1 bulb(10-12 cloves) fresh garlic, minced
1 Tbs Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
12 grape tomatoes, thin sliced
¼ med. onion, finely minced
1 tsp oregano
2 lbs. 16-20 count cooked shrimp
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs garlic powder
½ Tbs fresh ground black pepper
½ Tbs Emeril’s Essence
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375º.
Place the first 9 ingredients in a 9x13 baking pan. Bake in oven for approx 25 min. to cook the garlic and tomatoes and mix the flavors. Remove from oven and toss the shrimp in the mixture to coat it. Level the shrimp in the pan and drizzle the olive oil over it. Sprinkle the garlic powder, black pepper, Essence and Parmesan cheese over the shrimp in that order. Bake for 10 min or until the shrimp are heated through(taste testing to see if they’re hot is one of the perks of being the cook!). Remove from oven, toss to coat again and serve.

I microwave mine also- I do not use the plastic wrap-carcinaogins and all... but I like to put speghetti sauce on it, sometimes butter and peccorino ramano cheese sprinkled on the top. I have also seen where people make a bolognese sauce over the top of it.
YUM I love the stuff!

Spaghetti Squash and Chicken Skillet Casserole
Yield: 2 - 4 servings

3 Tb Butter or Margarine
1 c Sliced fresh mushrooms
1/3 c Chopped leeks
1/4 c Chopped celery
3 Tb Chopped sweet red pepper
3 Tb Finely chopped fresh parsley

2 c Cooked spaghetti squash
4 Boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into thin strips
1/4 c Crushed seasoned croutons
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Seasoned pepper
1/8 tsp Garlic powder
Pinch of dried summer savory

1/2 c Sour cream
2 oz Shredded Swiss cheese (1/2 cup)

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until tender.
Add spaghetti squash and next 6 ingredients, cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in sour cream, cook, stirring constantly, just until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat.
Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand for 1 minute.

To bake, prepare mixture according to directions and spoon into a lightly greased 1.5 quart casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Style

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 cube vegetable bouillon
black pepper to taste
1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.
Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool.
Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, basil, bouillon cube, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until you have a medium thick sauce.
Remove squash strands with a fork, reserving the shells. Layer each half with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.

Makes 6 servings

PEPPERED FLOUNDER WITH LEMON-HERB SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Juice and zest of 3 Lemons, (chop zest)
2 tb Olive oil
1 1/2 c Cooked spaghetti squash
1 tb Dill, chopped
1 tb Parsley, chopped
1 tb Shallots, diced
2 sm Flounder fillets, skinned
Salt
2 tb Coarsely cracked pepper

In a small bowl combine 2/3 of lemon juice, all of zest and 1- 1/2 tb olive oil; set aside. In a bowl toss squash with remaining 2 tb lemon juice, 1 ts oil, herbs, shallots and salt and pepper to taste; set aside at room temperature. Heat vegetable oil over high heat until very hot. Season fish with salt and cracked pepper and cook, skin-side up, for two minutes; turn and continue to cook 3 minutes more. On 2 warm plates, mound squash mixture and top each with a fish fillet. Drizzle with lemon sauce.
PREPARE SPAGHETTI SQUASH: Put squash down on a baking sheet with sides. Pour in enough water to come 1/4" up sides of squash. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes; turn over and continue to cook until tender, about 20 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool. With a fork, shred flesh into long strands.

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

You can make this rich Alfredo sauce lower in fat by using reduced fat sour cream and low fat cheese.

1 medium-sized spaghetti squash, cooked and separated into strands
1 cup sour cream sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Serves 6-8
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the all ingredients except spaghetti squash over medium-low heat and whisk until smooth and creamy, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the spaghetti squash strands to the sauce and stir until thoroughly mixed and heated through. Serve immediately.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH HASH BROWNS

Cook and separate the strands of
1 spaghetti squash.
In a large-size bowl, mix the strands with
1/2 cup all-purpose flour and
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
Place a wide frying pan over medium heat and melt
1 tablespoon butter.
Drop spoon-fuls of the squash mixture into the fry pan and press with a fork into 3 inch diameter flat cakes. Cook until the bottoms are lightly brown (2 to 3 minutes), turn them over and brown the other side. Serve warm with sour cream and garnish with parsley.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Spaghetti Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 cup chopped zucchini, yellow crookneck, or other summer squash
1/2 cup fresh Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked
4 sweet bell peppers
1/4 cup shredded nonfat or low-fat swiss or cheddar cheese

Instructions:
In a skillet, heat chicken broth to simmering. Add squash, mushrooms, onion, herbs, garlic, and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in spaghetti squash and tomato. Slice tops off of bell peppers; reserve. Scoop out center core and white ribs inside peppers and discard. Spoon filling into peppers; sprinkle on shredded cheese. Add tops. Place in a shallow baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover and bake in a 375 F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through.

Wow John! Thank you. I'm going to try the hash brown recipe tomorrow. We're having fish and fried cabbage. The hash browns will be perfect with that meal.

Cookin and Puppy I microwave the squash too but I do it different then either of you. I wash the squash, take the meat fork and poke holes into it, put it into a dish, and microwave it whole. When it's cooked I split it open and remove the seeds. I do this with butternut squash also. Works well. Carol

Toss cooked spaghetti squash with half a cup of orange juice, the same amount of chopped parsley and a little salt or pepper for a warm salad or side dish. Any leftovers can be eaten cold the next day or reheated in the microwave.

My goodness Carol! I just found this recipe this morning and it's going to be a "must try" for me. I bet it's awesome as is, but after making it once this way, I'm going to HAVE to make this with some Italian sausage in it too. Yum Yum!

John

Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Soup

1 spaghetti squash (about 2 lbs), halved stem to blossom end, seeds removed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
1 pkg (10 oz) baby bella mushrooms, quartered (about 4 cups)
1 can (28 oz) Roma tomatoes with basil
2 containers (32 oz each) vegetable stock
1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
sea salt
1 pkg (6 oz) baby spinach, chopped (about 8 cups)

Place squash skin side up (one half at a time), on microwave-safe dish; cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH 10-12 min, until tender. Let stand 10-15 min, until cool enough to handle. Carefully remove wrap to avoid steam.
Run tines of fork lengthwise over squash to loosen spaghetti-like strands; scoop out strands; set aside.
While squash microwaves, heat large stockpot on MEDIUM-HIGH; add oil, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 min, until softened. Add garlic and mushrooms; cook, stirring, about 2 min, until vegetables start to brown. Stir in tomatoes; simmer 8-10 min.
Add vegetable stock; simmer 20 min. Stir in squash and thyme; season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer 5 min. Add spinach; stir 1-2 min until wilted.

John you've really been a help with all of these recipes. Thanks my friend. Carol