CSA Farmshare Dinner #2 - Baked Italian Spaghetti Squash

See that big yellow spaghetti squash in front? Tonight I cooked it! Even better I made it into an Italian baked dish.

First step is to roast your spaghetti squash. Preheat your oven to 375. The hardest part of this was to pierce through the spaghetti squash. I feel good that I will never be a serial killer, because it was so ridiculous to stab at the squash. I took the sharpest poignancy knife I had that had a solid handle to hold onto and he it into the yellow squash. Then it is time to retrieve the knife and stab again. I probably stabbed about 15 slices into the squash.

Placed the whole spaghetti squash with the pierced skin in some sort of a baking pan. I used a small casserole aluminum pan. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes. Or until you can easily pierce the skin with your knife or a fork.

Let it cool a little or use a pot holder to carefully hang onto the squash will you slice it in half. Use a spoon and scoop out the guts and seeds from the center.

Mine still felt a little firm, so I placed it faced up on a cookie sheet and baked it for another 15 minutes. One website I read said to add a little olive oil, so I tried that on one half. I used coconut oil of course instead. You can see the shiny inside on the left. I don't think the coconut oil added much to it, just made it a little greasier. The side without the oil tasted exactly the same just the less . I don't think there's any need to add the oil.

Next use a fork to scrape and separate the spaghetti squash strands. Again the squash is really hot now so it would be best to wait a while, or if you're impatient like me, hold onto it with tongs or a potholder.

Scoop the loose strands into a baking pan. I like the small stone baker from pampered chef. And add whatever ingredients you like to make your Italian dish.

I chose to use home canned tomato basil sauce, fresh basil from the Farm share, and a nitrate free chicken apple sausage that I bought at Costco. This would be delicious with a meat sauce, or meatballs, or even a mix of vegetables.

I added my chopped up Sausage first, then topped it with the sliced basil, and finally dumped on a pint of tomato basil sauce. I also added a little shredded mozzarella which is a delicious addition if you eat dairy.

Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until your cheese is melted and bubbly. Then enjoy!

 

 

 

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