Spaghetti Squash

Fall inspiration has struck again and it turns out pumpkin isn't the only gourd in town. After days of skeptically watching spaghetti squash recipes and how-tos flood my Pinterest feed, I finally took the plunge.

It was a last minute decision at the grocery store. In fact, I had totally different intentions on what I would be making on one of fall's first jacket-worthy day's. Nonetheless, I decided to take the $5.83 gamble and give it a try. It was actually comical when I got home and started to begin prepping because I didn't realize how difficult it was going to be to cut through the outer skin. I must have gone through at least 4 different knives! If my mom were there watching me, she would've had a heart attack and swooped in before I "lost a finger."




(Instructions)
After I finally split it in half (long ways, btw) it was smooth sailing. I scooped out the seeds/stringy stuff and hollowed out the middle. I decided to try a tip I grabbed from thekitchn.com- turn the squash face side down on a baking dish and add a little water to the pan to prevent the squash from drying out. It worked out perfectly for me; after 40 minutes in the oven on 400 degrees and about 10 minutes of cooling time, I was able to easily scrape out the noodle-like squash.
I tried preparing it two ways: with a red sauce, and sautéed in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and spices (parsley, oregano, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper.) I was really impressed with how good it was with the red sauce. The squash flavor is pretty mild and whatever you pare it with will end up being the star of the show.

Now it might just be my inner Italian talking, but don't expect it to replace your craving for spaghetti because it definitely tastes like squash. BUT - if you don't go into it expecting your dish to taste exactly like angel hair, and you are open to the fact that it is not made of gluten, you will love it. Well, at least I did :)