Spaghetti Squash & Tomato Soup

This is a great, hearty, healthy, satisfying meal. Lately I've been cooking a lot with spaghetti squash and really enjoy it. If you don't need to carbo load, then you can replace any spaghetti recipe with spaghetti squash instead to keep the calories down. It's high in fiber and has about 40 calories per cup. I find it to be very very filling. It's hard for me to eat more than 2 cups of it. The result is always yummy. 


At the beginning of the summer some girlfriends & I spent a week together down at the beach. We took turns cooking for each other and for my dinner meal I made lettuce wraps coupled with this spaghetti squash covered with tomato soup.


I got the lettuce wraps recipe from one of my favorite recipes blogs: skinnytaste. The tomato soup w/ spaghetti squash recipe idea was a combination of other recipes I've made and a montage of recipes from allrecipes. Again, let me emphasize how filling and yummy this meal was! It makes 4 to 6 servings.


Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 3 cans of crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups of fat free chicken stock
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream 
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp of italian seasoning
• salt & pepper to taste
• garlic powder (optional)

Directions:

Before doing anything else get the Spaghetti Squash started. There are different strategies to preparing & cooking spaghetti squash. Some prefer to cook the spaghetti squash first, then cut it in half. That may be safer when dealing with the knife, but then you have to handle a hot spaghetti squash. I'm not a fan of that. So pick the lesser of two evils for you and go with it. 


Here's what I do...

Cut in half, (it's really really hard to do with a sharp knife before it's been cooked, so BE CAREFUL! I use a "wiggle" method on both sides and crack it in half. It could be dangerous, so if you aren't having any luck just put it in the oven whole and cut and scrape later) scrape out seeds & guts, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and cook for about an hour in a preheated oven at 375 degrees, with the two halves facing upward. 

When there is about 10 to 20 minutes left, combine the tomatoes, chicken stock, whipping cream, butter, and italian seasoning in a large pot. 

Bring to a boil, lower the heat, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add salt & pepper to taste. If you want the soup a certain consistency feel free to put chicken stock & tomatoes in a blender before bringing to a boil or after you lower the temp feel free to use an immersion blender. I love those things!

Remove spaghetti squash from oven scrape out what's left. Place evenly in 4 to 6 bowls.  Top with more seasoning if desired. 

Cover each bowl with soup. Want to make it better? Add homemade croutons, a dollop of sour cream, or shredded cheese. ENJOY!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Spaghetti Squash & Cucumber Salad

We brought a meal to our friends who had a baby semi-recently and it was enough to bring them the Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna). But I had a leftover spaghetti squash from when I made Spaghetti Squash Primavera. I wanted to try something new with it. So instead of doing a hot dish, I tried out this salad. Once the squash is cooked & the veggies are chopped it's very easy to make. I added some laughing cow cheese to do something different with it. I was also proud that I actually made lemon zest from a lemon rather than just buying it from the spice aisle. This is a refreshing salad and incredibly low in fat & calories if you leave out the oil. 

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half & seeded

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 cup black olives, cut in half
2 cucumbers, peeled, sliced, & cut in half
1 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice or juice from a lemon
3 wedges of laughing cow cheese, cut into chunks
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the halves of the squash in a baking dish (cut-side facing down).

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until it can be cut smoothly.

Scrape out spaghetti squash with fork and let it cool.

Toss the spaghetti squash with olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, cheese & garlic in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice & lemon zest in a small bowl.

Pour olive oil into lemon mixture.

Whisk vigorously and add salt & pepper.

Drizzle over the spaghetti squash mixture and toss well.

Refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours before serving. 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

This may be one of the BEST recipes I've ever made! So proud! You have got to try this one out!

So months ago I was watching Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives for the first time. They went to this place called The Pit Stop in New York and they did the most amazing thing with a spaghetti squash. Well, this was right around my spaghetti squash kick, so I was pretty excited. I had to wait a little but the recipe was finally put up on the web. I tried it for the first time and even though it's a spaghetti squash stuffed full of veggies my husband still loved it. Spaghetti Squash Primavera is so good! Yummo!


Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
1 small eggplant
1 white onion
1 small head of broccoli
5 asparagus spears

1 oz of fresh parsley, chopped
1 jar marinara sauce
1 ball fresh mozzarella (I used lite part-skim)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
3 - 5 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese (optional)


The original recipe calls for other veggies; carrots, cauliflower, celery, & shallots. But I didn't include them. I figured this recipe has enough ingredients & vegetables already so I didn't bother.


I also think this recipe would taste great with red pepper. So if you are looking for a little kick, add that too!


I didn't use the parmesan cheese. But feel free to top your final product with that.



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Split spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds. This is hard to do and involves a sharp knife. BE CAREFUL.


Add squash to large pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. I had to do this in two phases and only bowl one half of the squash at a time.



While boiling, dice all vegetables. All the colors are so pretty!


In a very large pan heat olive oil and onions and garlic.
Saute until soft.


Then add all other vegetables and parsley. Stir together.


When read, move spaghetti squash from pot. Be careful, it's hot. I used tongs!


Using a fork, scrape the inside of the squash into a large bowl. I used the original pot that I boiled the spaghetti squash in after I drained it. 


Be sure to keep the shell and keep it in tact. 


Then add the vegetables in with the squash and most of the marinara sauce.


Mix together real well and split into the two spaghetti squash shells.


Top with thick slices of the mozzarella and remainder of the sauce.


Sprinkle with salt & pepper.


Cook in oven on baking sheet or pan for 10 to 12 minutes on 350 degrees.


Remove from oven, top with parmesan, and serve.


What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

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!