Cooking: Spaghetti Squash

Well, with all this eating and over-indulging that I've been doing, I've had to consider some new alternatives to eating pasta when at home.  A coworker suggested that I give spagetti squash a try and so I thought, why not?

Although its more widely available during the Fall, you can usually find spaghetti squash all year round.  I went to Whole Foods and picked a nice bright yellow one out for my dinner.

Spaghetti Squash!

The three most popular ways to cook spaghetti squash are to (1) bake it in the oven (2) boil it (3) microwave it.  In the interest of time (oven takes 60+ minutes and boiling takes about 30-40 minutes), I decided to microwave it. 

Many people say to split the squash in half lengthwise to cut the cooking time, but I could barely get my knife through the squash.  So I'll just skip that step and take the extra cook time lol.

Microwaving Spaghetti Squash:
Step 1: Take a fork and poked holes all over the squash (otherwise you will have exploded squash all over your microwave from the pressure).

Poke holes all over the squash

Step 2:  Put the squash in a microwaveable dish and place it in the microwave for 10-12 minutes.  Optional: you can add a cup of water to the bottom of the dish and/or cover the squash with a damp paper towl.  If you split the squash in half, place it cut side down in the dish with a cup of water to the dish and microwave for 5 minutes.

Microwave for 10-12 minutes

Step 3: When the squash is slightly soft to the touch and you can easily stick your fork into it, take it out of the microwave.  Let it sit for 5 minutes to prevent burning yourself when handling it.

When the squash is slight soft and can be easily pierced, its done!

Step 4: Carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise (careful with the steam!) and scoop out the seeds.

Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds

Squash de-seeded!

Step 5: Using a fork, start scooping out the squash.  It will come out in strands!

Use a fork and scoop out the squash

Voila!

 Step 6: Dress with flavoring of your choice!  Some common toppings include butter, garlic and oregano, salt and pepper, or my topping of choice some marinara sauce and a dollop of Greek yogurt!  Dinner is done and ready to go.  Enjoy!

My spaghetti squash dinner with marinara sauce and dollop of Greek yogurt

Thanks for reading - Piggy KK