Spaghetti Squash & Sonoma Jack Alfredo Sauce

Though this isn't one of my many New Year's Resolutions, I am attempting to try out new ingredients that I've never cooked with before. I've done a good job of stepping out of my comfort zone when it comes to food. My first real challenge was cooking with quinoa. I had never eaten it, seen it, tasted it, or even heard of it. But I tried it and it worked out great. I tried cooking with italian sausage and potatoes last fall, (I know, I know, potatoes is most definitely not a unique or unusual food item to cook with, especially in Lancaster County, but it was for me, I had never cooked potatoes the 28 years I was on this planet. Don't judge.) I felt confident with these first few challenges so i attempted more exotic ingredients such as, avocados, and butternut squash (really impressed myself with that). This week I used couscous! Next up? I've got eggplant in my fridge to make eggplant lasagna (I've never cooked anything with eggplant in it, let alone eaten it.) and I'm also up for the challenge of doing something with my pomegrante that I just bought. But before I tackle that I'll share with you my last victory...

SPAGHETTI SQUASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't even know what it was until a few months ago. It's an actual squash, but when you scrape a fork through a roasted one it comes out looking like actual spaghetti. So cool! It looks so much like pasta, I treated it like such. I read a recipe on Tj's Test Kitchen about how to compliment the spaghetti squash with Laughing Cow Alfredo Sauce. I prefer the Sonoma Jack brand of cheese wedges, so I used those instead. I also served it with a side of asparagus. Healthy & delicious. I feel great right now! :-)


Ingredients:
Large spaghetti squash
3 Sonoma Jack light cheese wedges
2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 tablespoons 1/2 & 1/2, i didn't have fat free :-(
4 tablespoons reduced fat parmesan cheese
pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons of water


Directions:
Now, it's a little tricky with the squash. I prefer to cut mine in half, seed, then roast it in the oven. What i've read there are all different way to cook it. I cooked mine in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees, I seasoned it with a little bit of pepper first. I've seen some recipes, where you don't cut it in half, you just poke it with a fork, then cook for an hour or an hour and a half. So you have to see how much time you have and what's easiest for you. I prefer not to cut mine when it is hot, but I know how hard it is to cut squash when it is raw. Your call.


While squash is cooking...


In a small sauce pan, on low-medium heat mix in half & half, sonoma jack cheese, and garlic powder.


Stir with a whisk until cheese is melted and there are no more lumps. I thought I would need to cut the cheese up first, not needed it melts away pretty quickly.


Next add parmesan cheese & pepper. Stir together. It will be pretty thick, so you can add about 2 tablespoons of water, you may add more if you want it thinner.

Take squash out of oven. You have to be careful, it is hot and hard to remove the contents.  With a fork scrape the contents out of shell. Shred from one end to the other and place in bowl. You will be surprised how much it seems like spaghetti. Pour contents of alfredo sauce over "pasta" and enjoy!