by Texas Homesteader ~
When I asked RancherMan what veggies he wanted me to plant in this year’s garden he emphatically said “SPAGHETTI SQUASH!!” I must admit I was a little surprised at his enthusiasm. LOL
Spaghetti squash cooks into strands that visually resemble strands of spaghetti. Now to me it doesn’t taste like pasta at all. Its taste is of a mild squash that lends itself well to the other flavors you add to the dish. And it’s certainly low-carb way to get a dish that at least looks like pasta!
But we love spaghetti squash and although there are many ways to prepare it, I make a sort of vegetarian lasagna that’s always been his fave. It’s served right in the shell so it has a beautiful presentation as well. Recently I was able to harvest our spaghetti squash and whip up his favorite cheesy spaghetti squash dish. It was easy, delicious, healthy and quick to prepare.
Quick & Easy Cheesy Spaghetti Squash
I cut and seeded my spaghetti squash and placed the halves cut-side-down in a pie plate with about 2 tablespoons of water. I microwaved them for about 9-10 minutes but your time may vary depending upon the size of your spaghetti squash. While the squash was cooking I diced some onions & bell pepper and sauteed them with minced garlic. At the very end I tossed in some sliced Malabar Spinach and turned off the griddle to let the flavors meld while I worked on my squash.
When the squash was cooked I allowed it to cool just a bit and scraped out those delicious spaghetti-squash strands with a fork, emptying each half of the squash shell. I sat aside the empty shells since I’ll actually be using them as the serving bowls.
Assemble The Squash In The Shells
I put the squash strands and the sauteed bell pepper mixture in a bowl, added some fresh chopped basil from the garden and some Italian seasoning as well as some salt & pepper. You could add leftover meat here as you wish – leftover meatloaf or cubed chicken would be good options. But RancherMan just wanted the squash tonight.
I like to stir in some pasta sauce now for some tomatoey goodness – you could stir in some of your homemade pasta sauce or even a can of commercial sauce at this point. But I used small pieces of my Italian Flavored Tomato Leather that I’d already preserved from our garden tomatoes. I also stirred in some chopped fresh tomatoes to give it a chunkier texture & I stirred it all together to blend.
Then it was a simple matter of filling each empty squash shell half-full with the squash mixture, sprinkling on some cheddar & mozzarella cheese, then finish filling up the shell and topping with more cheese. (I wanted mozzarella, RancherMan wanted sharp cheddar.
I topped each half with some sliced black olives for a finishing touch and microwaved the halves just long enough to make the cheese all melty and delicious. And with that, dinner was served! It was delicious, healthy and oh-so-quick to prepare! I love that I could use our garden goodness to provide this quick and healthy meal for us.
Win (10) FREE Spaghetti Squash Seeds!
(Sorry, this contest has reached the deadline)
Do you love spaghetti squash as much as we do? Well I harvested the seeds from our garden spaghetti squash and I’ll be giving away 10 Spaghetti Squash Seeds to TWO lucky winners! Enter the RaffleCopter below and two winners will be chosen at random. Good luck!
This looks and sounds delicious and so healthy too, win win! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
It’s our favorite way to enjoy this garden delight, Keri. Plus it’s so quick & easy to whip up. ~TxH~
Spaghetti squash is one of my favorites too!! I just made a 4 cheese blend version myself!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 favorite Things on Thursday! Pinned!
Spaghetti squash & cheese is always a winning combination Elaine – sounds delicious. Thanks for the pin. ~TxH~
My mom used to make spaghetti squash often but I never have for some reason. This sounds so yummy! I’m going to have to add this to my recipes list. Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday!
This is the way RancherMan loves it the most Emily. I know y’all will enjoy it too. ~TxH~
This looks delicious! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Dishing It & Digging It!
Quick, easy, delicious and straight out of the garden – gotta love it. ~TxH~
Wow that looks delicious! I love spaghetti squash. Thanks for linking up at #SustainableSundays!
Us too Danielle, especially when it’s a cinch to cook & fun to eat. ~TxH~
I love spaghetti squash!
We do too, Michelle! ~TxH~
Tomatoes are one of my favorites!
It’s hard to beat a home-grown tomato! ~TxH~
My son really likes to plant tomato seeds. He’s definitely got the green thumb in the family. I hope to win these seeds for him! 🙂
That’s awesome Kyra – good luck! ~TxH~
zucchini seeds are my favorite
Oh, then you’re really, REALLY gonna like the post this week about making a sweet treat with overgrown zucchini. ~TxH~
Your Facebook page is not working with the URL you supplied.
Oh no! Try again, perhaps it was just a glitch. Let me know if it doesn’t let you in & I’ll get that entry in for you. ~TxH~
I always have tomatoes (even though they are really a fruit). I also have yellow squash.
LOL The yellow squash is growing crazy this year! ~TxH~
I love tomatoes they can be used for so many things
I agree Angelica, and they’re so easy to preserve too. Have you seen the post about making tomato leather for homemade pizza? You’ll want to search the blog for it – you’ll be amazed. ~TxH~
I love planting herbs and tomatoes
Thank You for the chance
And they go so well together too, Fiona. ~TxH~
Tomatoes are my favorite thing to plant!
A popular garden goodie indeed Lea. ~TxH~
I love to plant tomatoes
Tomatoes are hitting first place in the favorite category Darlene. ~TxH~
My favorite is tomatoes
So many things to do with tomatoes makes them a versatile garden treat. ~TxH~
I love to plant Tomato!
Tomatoes are one of my faves too Amy. YUM ~TxH~
Looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up and don’t forget to leave a comment at the party – Next week’s features that also leave a comment get pinned and tweeted!
Habinero & Jalapeno Peppers because my husband loves them with everything he eats.
I love my food spicy too Katy. I’ve been known to chop jalapenos into mac & cheese – it’s delicious! ~TxH~
Yum, that sounds great! Hubby also loves spaghetti squash. I’ll have to try this recipe out next time we have some.
It’s RancherMan’s favorite way to enjoy Spaghetti squash, Katy. As a bonus, it’s very easy & quick in the kitchen. ~TxH~
YUM! Sounds delicious!!!
I’ve never tried spaghetti squash before. I copied your recipe and will have to plant some next season. I’ve never planted any type of squash (other than zucchini, if that’s a squash?).
Also wanted you to know that we’ve been baking and ENJOYING your bread recipe. You truly inspired me to try making our bread and with your easy to follow recipe, we’ve been very successful. LOVE IT! One more item we no longer purchase from the grocery store thanks to YOU!
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE TIME AND EFFORT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BLOG POSTS ~ AND SHARING SUCH GREAT IDEAS AND RECIPES WITH US.
Heartfelt Thanks ~ Bobbie
OMGOSH Bobbie!! Your sweet words just made my day – thank you!! (hugs) ~TxH~
My favorite veggie is zucchini! There are so many ways to prepare zucchini it’s ridiculous! But then, I also love tomatoes because they always seem to surprise me in late August with basket after basket of luscious vine ripened fruit! Hmmm… maybe it’s green beans. Anyway – I just love this recipe! I wonder if it would freeze well, so later this winter I could just let it thaw and then bake in the Sun Oven, for a taste of garden freshness?
I’ve frozen it before and it was ‘doable’ when thawed, although cheese changes texture when it’s frozen and there was some watering from the other veggies I had included. I’m experimenting this year with dehydrating the squash and so far it’s worked out well. I’ve only rehydrated it for my soup lunches so far but I’ll be putting some back to rehydrate for this dish as well this winter. ~TxH~
Oh, that looks so good! We didn’t grow spaghetti squash this year but hopefully next year we’ll be able to fit it in. 🙂
Stopping by from #SustainableSundays blog hop.
Two reasons it’s in our planting plans: It’s a fun veggie to eat with it’s spaghetti strands, and also its thick shell makes it a longer-term storage squash so we don’t have to eat it all at one time. Spreading out the garden-harvest meals helps during the glut of summer. ~TxH~
I like planting herbs… because they don’t require as much patience 😉
Man, I hear ya there Kelly. My favorite is thyme, is so dang expensive in those little cans! ~TxH~
I’m so making this . You have started a big change in my life and in spring I’ll share what that is and how it is changing my life is several ways. A big thank you for the recipe.
Yukon golds have been the favorite from our garden this year. There has been so much rain this year that mold has been a major factor in veggies and flowers. We have lost tomatoes peppers etc, anything planted in ground. Our raised beds have done pretty well. Can you believe we have only gotten 2 zucchini squash this year, and usually you would be giving them away. I do want to try the spaghetti squash next year too.
Enjoy your Sunday.
The rain has wreaked havoc with many people’s gardens this year, Tonia (either the excess or lack of it) Hopefully you’ll get more zucchini after things dry up a bit – you’re NOT gonna want to miss today’s post about making sweet chewy cherry treats from excess overgrown garden zucchini. I’m purposely allowing them to grow into ‘FrankenSquash’ so I can harvest the seeds and I’m making cherry treats for RancherMan using the overgrown squash. Win/Win! Thanks for your sweet comment! ~TxH~
We have been enjoying hot peppers this year. My son ordered seeds for one of the hottest peppers. I won’t be trying them.
I love my food to be spicy, Sandy. I don’t like it to be so hot that it’s painful to eat, but apparently my spicy-sensors have been abused to the point that they’re barely existent these days so I typically enjoy it hotter than most people like. LOL Good luck with the contest! ~TxH~
TEST for Rafflecopter
The easiest is cherry tomatoes! I just love veggies of any kind! I have been trying to find a recipe for spaghetti squash that the DH would love! I’d bet this recipe just might work with some Italian sausage added!!
(chants softly) do it… Do It… DO. IT!!!! I think y’all will love it Karen. ~TxH~
Favorite is Tomatoes, but I also love peppers, snap peas, watermelon and cucumber. Everything coming from the garden is good.
True words, Yvette. True words! ~TxH~
I certainly can’t argue with you there Yvette. I love the freshness of our garden produce, it’s all good! ~TxH~
While I love to eat fresh tomatoes, I like growing zucchini best. It’s hardy, so even a newbie can have success. Plus it’s very versatile. Have you tried seasoned zucchini pizza crust? YUM!
Oh Laurinda, do I have a post coming up for YOU! Be sure to check back tomorrow for an aaaaaahhhhh-MAZING thing to do with your zucchini – especially the monster zucchini that usually gets away from you until it’s the size of a baseball bat. LOL You’re gonna LOVE it! ~TxH~
we love our tomatoes
Tomatoes are always a good bet in the garden Donna. Who can turn down a perfectly-ripe garden tomato?? Thanks for your comment. ~TxH~
It has always been swiss chard, but I’m enjoying zucchini and spaghetti squash alot more lately….so versitile for recipes. Seeds would be a great beginning to a new garden staple next year! Thanks!
I’m new to swiss chard myself Mickey but it’s so easy to grow. It will for sure be included in my garden plan next year! Good luck with the contest! ~TxH~
I would have to say tomatoes and green beans as my favorite.
Sorry to say that I don’t do twitter or facebook
Thank You for this giveaway opportunity along with your squash recipe.
I’m a big fan of tomatoes & green beans as well Colleen, they’re staples in our garden every year. ~TxH~
My family’s favorite is green beans.
I especially love planting green beans for a fall crop Deirdre and I’m making plans now to drop those seeds in the ground. Thanks for your comment. ~TxH~
My favorite is contingent upon what is growing the best that season…this summer it was cucumbers….I’ve made more pickles and relish types than one can believe…I also really enjoy growing fresh herbs as well. thanks so much for this fun giveaway…love your posts!!! Have a great weekend!
Our cucumbers went WILD this year Penny – I’ve been making refrigerator pickles like a fiend! LOL Good luck! ~TxH~
I love squash and growing my own vegetables.
I agree Sheri and with squash what’s not to love? I mean, dang it’s so prolific. I’ve been dehydrating squash this year for the first time & I can’t wait to see how well it goes in our winter soups. Aaaaahhhhhh… a little taste of summer during the frigid winter months. Thanks for commenting. ~TxH~
My fav is jalapenos
Oh yeah, Joe – Jalapenos WILL be planted in the garden each & every year. ~TxH~