What-I-Made Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash!

Here I am again, faithfully posting! Aren't you proud of me? ;)  (shameless, I know. LOL) It's time for me to share another recipe for What-I-Made Wednesday. Today's selection from the meal plan is Spaghetti Squash. This is a new one for me, so you are going to see photos of the inaugural squash-ing.  As you know, we're trying to shed a few pounds while staying healthy AND spending very little. That is a tall order, but I'm committed to it.  Having spaghetti squash instead of regular pasta is an excellent way to do all of that. It's only 33 calories per cup as compared to 222 calories in regular spaghetti, it is full of all sorts of vitamins and minerals, and it's pretty cheap. Even down here in the waaaaaaaay-south, it's only $1.88 /lb. The squash I used tonight was only about 2 pounds, so it wasn't very expensive. 

I didn't know how to cook a spaghetti squash, so I went to my trusty advisor Pinterest. I typed in "how to cook a spaghetti squash" and lo-and-behold there was a plethora of options.  My favorite was a link to a you-tube video with a microwave method! Yay! I love that I didn't have to heat my house up in the 90 degree weather. So I will share that link with you so you can share in my happiness.  Here you go!

Basically, you just take your spaghetti squash, stab it a bunch of times (like when you cook a baked potato) and put in a microwave-safe baking dish. Stick it in the microwave and zap it for about 12 minutes for a 2 lb squash, rotating it halfway through. Let it stand for 5 minutes or so and then slice the end off. Slice it down the middle and split it open like so.

Remove all the seeds and stringy guts parts from the center, and then use a fork to shred the inner flesh of the squash. It'll look like spaghetti. Surprise! :)

And that is all there is to it, really. I had some beautiful pasta sauce made with ground turkey in my freezer from last week's spaghetti night, so I thawed that on my stove top while I was microwaving the squash and making the steamed broccoli.  So, I added my sauce to my squash, topped it with a little grated Parmesan, plated my broccoli, and capped it all with a beautiful slice of Texas Toast garlic bread.

Yum! That's a good dinner anywhere folks! I have to tell you, that 4 hours later I am still full, and that just doesn't happen with pasta. DH really liked this too, and actually asked if we could switch permanently.  Yep! :)  If you would like my recipe for my pasta sauce with lean ground turkey, leave me a comment and I'll gladly share. Enjoy!