Creamy Spaghetti Squash Bake

This was a treat. I loved it — and it was an experiment! I will be refining this for sure, but it's worthy of a post.

I made this recipe low-carb by using spaghetti squash where I would have used regular spaghetti. The squash worked with the onion and red pepper to form a nice vegetable base and the turkey gave it extra heft in the belly. The star here is the cheese though, specifically - the cream cheese. It's a decadent and rich addition that really binds all the flavors together. Next time I will mix in the cream cheese a little more thoroughly — I used dollops of it in this recipe!

If you like spaghetti squash you have to try this, or a variation of it.

Eat well, cook often ...

Ingredients
1 2 to 3 lb. spaghetti squash
2 red bell peppers, seeded, diced
1 onion, diced
1 lb. of ground turkey (97/3)
2 C Mexican blend cheese, shredded
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp

Directions
Cut spaghetti squash in half length-wise and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 400° oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove and let cool.

In a large skillet over medium heat cook onion and red pepper in a little olive oil until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add ground turkey, breaking up and stirring occasionally until cooked through. 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool.

Scrape spaghetti squash out of shell with a fork and into Turkey mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in 3/4 of the shredded cheese. Scoop mixture into baking dish. Top with dollups of cream cheese and remaining shredded cheese. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Eat well, cook often ...

Spaghetti Squash with Special Sauce!

Squash has been dated as far back as 7,000 B.C. in parts of Mexico and South America. According to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, explorers from Europe originally thought squash were melons and were delighted to find them everywhere they went in the new world.

Squash is one of many examples of a modern food staple discovered in the Americas. I'm starting to think that the diet of most Europeans before they began exploring consisted of grass, tree bark and the flesh of what ever animal they weren't currently using as transportation.

Today, squash is divided into two primary families, summer squash, most abundant in late summer, and winter squash, which thrives in the fall. Summer squash, such as cucumber and zucchini, have edible skin, soft seeds and require little cooking. Winter squash, like pumpkin and acorn, have tough skin, hard seeds and require an ample amount of cooking time.

Here I used spaghetti squash, a winter variety, as a substitute for — you guessed it — spaghetti. It's so much lighter than pasta and has a delicate flavor. In fact, I prefer spaghetti squash over actual spaghetti.

The sauce is a traditional store bought sauce with some amplifiers. Kind of like a factory car turned into a hot rod. Fresh sausage, onion and green pepper give it a flavor boast that is sure to please.

Eat well, cook often ...

SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH SPECIAL SAUCE
Serves 4, 45 minutes
1  Spaghetti squash (3 to 4 lbs.)
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1 C  Red pepper, diced
1 C  Green pepper, diced
1 C Red onion, diced
3 C Traditional  pasta sauce

FOR THE SQUASH
Cut squash in half length-wise. Scrape seeds from middle. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and cook in apreheated oven at 375° for 40 minutes. Let cool slightly and scrape flesh into a bowl with a fork.

FOR THE SAUCE
Over medium heat, cook sausage in a large pot until browned and cooked through. Remove to a paper towel-lined bowl. Sauté onion and peppers in sausage drippings until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Return sausage to pot and add pasta sauce, cover and bring to a simmer

Spoon sauce onto a portion of squash then shower with fresh grated parmesan cheese (otional),
serve immediately.

Spaghetti Squash Parmesan

Printable version

As I drive around rural Northern Indiana I’m noticing a couple of things. First, the leaves are starting to change and the colorful fall landscapes are emerging over freshly harvested fields. The reds, yellows and browns create some of the most beautiful scenes mother nature has to offer and are one of my favorite things to see since returning to Indiana.

Second, the once lush gardens from this summer are being tilled under and the final bounties are being taken in, which means one thing – we're up to our necks in winter squash! I like one variety in particular - spaghetti squash. I use it as a light substitute for spaghetti pasta. I can wolf down a double helping without having to take a full-belly pasta nap afterward.

For this recipe, I roast spaghetti squash and toss it with fresh Parmesan cheese. For extra flavor, I include cherry tomatoes and Italian seasoning, creating a light and flavorful side that will compliment any main course, from meat off the grill to a roast from the oven.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Spaghetti Squash Parmesan

We have finally reached the end of the garden cycle. Over the last two months I have been inundated with free fresh food raised by friends and family – the winter squash is the final phase. I didn’t care for squash at all until I discovered spaghetti squash a couple of years ago and it wasn't until this summer that I found an acorn squash preparation that I liked. I think the key for me is surrounding squash with savory flavors rather than sweet, and dry roasting them in the oven.

I have never liked pumpkin pie and most of the time I had eaten any type of squash it was over cooked and loaded with sweet, which is a double whammy of yuck for me. Dry roasted with an al dente texture is the way I like it cooked and why I like to roast squash cut side up – cut side down creates a steaming action that makes the squash mushy if it is not monitored closely. The addition of bold flavors also helps to bully the flavor of the squash to the side, but I must say spaghetti squash in particular seems to have a natural savory flavor and I have grown to like it very much. Something I never thought I would be saying three years ago.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Spaghetti Squash Parmesan

Serves 4; 50 minutes
1 Spaghetti squash, 4 to 5 lbs
1 C Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
1 pint Cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Prepare, roast squash
Preheat oven to 375°. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place both halves on a baking sheet, and roast in oven until cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes.

Toss, serve
Remove squash from oven and scrape flesh into a large bowl with a fork. Add parmesan cheese, cherry tomatos and Italian seasoning and toss together until well combined. Adjust seasoning if necessary, then serve.

Lemon Spinach Spaghetti Squash

Printable version

Fall has returned and with it the multiple varieties of winter squash. Originating in the Western hemisphere, there is evidence of squash being consumed in Mexico more than 7,000 years ago. Unlike the summer variety, winter squash has inedible skin and tough flesh that needs to be cooked for a long time to be eaten. They are also larger and heavier and impossible to chuck at passing revelers on a fall hey ride with any accuracy.

Generally, I am not a big fan of winter squash but one variety stands out: Spaghetti squash. I love to use it as a replacement for the obvious – spaghetti pasta. It has a nice mild flavor and is much lighter in the belly.

For this recipe, I combine spaghetti squash with spinach and accent it with lemon and thyme. Residual heat from the squash right out of the oven is used to wilt and cook the spinach. The fresh lemon and thyme combined to give the dish a signature taste. It’s surprisingly light and flavorful and a great side for almost any meal.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Years ago I made a recipe similar to this that I found in Cuisine at Home magazine. The original dish called for angel hair pasta and I thought spaghetti squash would be a great substitute. The squash actually enhanced the flavor. It’s much lighter and has a subtle garlic-like taste and compliments the flavors surrounding it. I was really pleased with the dish overall.

It seems that I make a lot of heavy dishes, so it was nice to make something that would appeal to people who are dieting or more apt to eat lighter. Spaghetti squash is a fantastic substitute for spaghetti pasta. This is the second dish I have created for Behind the Bites that I have done it and both were a success. The first time the swap was for spaghetti and meatballs, which feature a sauce and protein that are really the star of the show. In this dish the squash is much more prominent and it stood up well next to the lemon and thyme.

Once again, I'm impressed with the spaghetti variety of squash. I'm really not a fan of winter squash in general. I think it’s bland and has to be cooked so long that it looses it's texture. Spaghetti squash is definitely the exception. I look forward to working with it again.

Eat well, cook often ...

RECIPE
Side for 4; 45 minutes
1 Spaghetti squash, 4 to 5 lbs
1 Tbs Thyme, fresh
1 Lemon, juice and zest
3 C Baby spinach
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, fresh grated

Clean, season, cook squash
Cut squash in half length-wise. Scrape seeds from middle. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Toss and serve
Place spinach, thyme, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl, add hot squash and toss for 2 minutes, wilting the spinach. Plate and garnish with fresh grated parmesan.

Italian Style Spaghetti Squash

Squash has been dated as far back as 7,000 B.C. in parts of Mexico and South America. According to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, explorers from Europe originally thought squash were melons and were delighted to find them everywhere they went in the new world. Another example of a modern food staple of the western world that was discovered in the Americas. I'm starting to think that the diet of most Europeans before they began exploring consisted of grass, tree bark and the flesh of what ever animal they weren't currently using as transportation.

Printable version

Today, squash is divided into two primary families, summer squash, most abundant in late summer, and winter squash, which thrives in the fall. Summer squash, such as cucumber and zucchini, have edible skin, soft seeds and require little cooking. Winter squash, like pumpkin and acorn, have tough skin, hard seeds and require an ample amount of cooking time.

For this recipe, I use spaghetti squash, a winter variety, which resembles its namesake pasta when cooked and removed from its skin. The first recipe features a hearty mixture composed of sausage, onion, fresh peppers and store-bought traditional pasta sauce that tops the squash – which works well as a delicate and tasty substitute for spaghetti pasta. The dish can easily serve as the center piece of a meal. The second recipe features spaghetti squash tossed with basil pesto, this dish works best as a side.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I have been waiting all summer to cook home-grown spaghetti squash and substitute it for none other than - spaghetti! My Dad had planted it in the garden, and I knew that there would be copious amounts by the fall.

There always is.

Gardeners all over northern Indiana have little stands out near the road to display and sell their leftover bounty from the garden. It starts with tomatoes, cucumber and zucchini in late summer, then slowly, as fall sets in – the pumpkin, acorn and spaghetti squash slowly take their place.

What amazes me about these stands is that they are unattended. There is only a list of prices, like four cucmber for $1, and a jar or container to put the money in. You could take as much as you wanted and not leave a dime or even steal the money in the jar – but that rarely happens. It's a karma thing. I bought three tomatoes at one of these stands recently and written on top of the money jar was "My God is Watching."

A fresh vegetable stand in Northern Indiana.

I almost left double the amount.

These stands are a great representation of the openess and optimism of the rural Midwesterner. People in other parts of the country might call it naive, but I believe that comes from the somewhat-synical world view that most urban dwellers must develop to survive in places dominated by grift and the grifter.

In more than a decade living in New York City, I saw nothing that I could compare to these goodwill vegetable stands. Don't get me wrong, there are many awesome things created purely from goodwill in the Big Apple. You just don't find the buying and selling of goods at a road-side stand based on an honors system. They were a site to see last summer, my first in the Midwest since the late 1990s, and a great source of fresh vegetables at a price grocery stores or farmers markets couldn't compete with.

Eat well, cook often ...