Margherita Spaghetti Squash

I've been on a bit of a spaghetti squash kick. I absolutely LOVE pasta, but have no portion control (or self-control!) when it comes to eating pasta. Here enters spaghetti squash - the flavors and textures of pasta that I crave with a calorie level that enables me to have second or third helpings without spending the rest of the evening clutching my stomach wondering why I kept eating.

I know I'm not the only one. If you're like me and love pasta but maybe need a healthier (but still yummy) option, I recommend trying to substitute with spaghetti squash.

I first found this idea on Hoopfinity (via Pinterest, of course). I altered the recipe a bit to meet our cravings and needs. To be quite honest, I think we used the biggest spaghetti squash imaginable. That was unnecessary. Lesson learned.

Margherita Spaghetti Squash
1 large spaghetti squash
4 roma tomatoes
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (plus more for topping)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. In a baking dish, fill about 1/4 inch with water. Place spaghetti squash cut-side down in water. Cook in oven for 45 minutes to an hour. The spaghetti squash is done when you can easily scrape out the flesh and it looks like stringy spaghetti.

3. While the squash is cooking, dice your tomatoes, chop the basil, and shred the mozzarella if it isn't already shredded.

4. Scrape out the flesh from the spaghetti squash and place in a big mixing bowl. Add the diced tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and 1 1/2 cup mozzarella. Stir until well-mixed.

5. Scoop mixture back into the spaghetti squash skins. Top with more mozzarella. We really like cheese, so we added another half cup on top.

6. Broil for 2-3 minutes, until cheese starts to brown.

7. Serve immediately either from the squash skin or in a bowl.

How many people this will serve really depends on how big of a spaghetti squash you use and how many other sides you have. We used ours as a main dish and were able to feed 8 people.

Garlic Roasted Veggies

I'll be honest. When I was growing up, I absolutely HATED vegetables. I'm not joking. I literally wouldn't eat a vegetable unless is was fried or (sometimes) cooked into a spaghetti sauce.

I'm not sure when exactly I took such a complete turn in this. It was some time in college. Actually it may have been when I studied abroad in Vienna. My roommates and I had reached the point of not being able to consume any more butter, fried food, or red meat. Seriously - there's so much of that in German/Austrian cuisine. Anyways, a few of my roommates and I took turns cooking. Not wanting to be that one person who was super picky, especially since we were in another country and already having to figure out how to cook there, I ate pretty much anything my roommates made me. One of my roommates, Whitney, was a wonderful cook (she still is) and love love LOVED vegetables. I found myself consuming - and LIKING - more and more vegetables!

I was astonished. So was my family. They still can't believe how much I now love vegetables. My love for these lovely colorful vegetables has simply intensified with each year. Most recently, I have found that I like asparagus. I think I had judged asparagus a little prematurely because it always surprised me in my sushi. I'm not really big on bacon, so the asparagus-bacon combo didn't d anything to entice me. My love of vegetables has grown so much in the past few years, that I decided to actively pursue other vegetables. I decided I would try fresh asparagus and green beans this summer. I went to a friend's house a couple weeks ago and lo and behold - she had made asparagus! Never wanting to be the ungrateful guest, I put a little on my plate (but not too much!) just to try. The first bite, and I was HOOKED. I couldn't wait to add asparagus to my veggie repertoire!

All that to say that I, too, now love love LOVE vegetables. Today's recipe is Garlic Roasted Vegetables. I made these tonight ahead of the rest of our meal. AJ and I literally had to walk into another room to keep from consuming the entire pan before dinner! Of course, you can change this recipe to include/exclude the vegetables you like/don't like, but it is just so yummy!

Garlic Roasted Veggies
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped (the bigger, the better!)
10 asparagus stalks, cut into 1 1/2" to 2" pieces
3 carrots, cut into 1 1/2" - 2" pieces
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz mushrooms, quartered

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a greased cookie sheet, combine all vegetables but tomatoes and mushrooms. Evenly spread olive oil, sea salt, red pepper, and lemon juice on top.

3. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms, bake for an additional 10 minutes.

5. If you like your veggies more on the crisp side (like me), increase heat to broil for two minutes.

Serve immediately. Delicious by itself, or serve on the side of chicken or fish. Pictured at the top of this entry with Captain Hook Coconut Cod (recipe coming soon).