How to cook Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash has been one of my favorite foods for quite some time now. I really can't get enough of it, and it's a healthy replacement for so many things! 

This is a frequent dinner for us at my home. I always have a spaghetti squash on hand because they last awhile and are super easy to cook.

Here is how I usually cook it:

1. Start about an hour before you are ready to eat dinner.

2. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.

3. Cover a flat baking pan with tinfoil (helps with the mess after).

4. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, and scrape out the seeds/goobers on the inside. Cutting it can be tough on bigger ones. I sometimes make my husband do it for me. You can cut it in half the night before, and just cover the open side with Saran Wrap and put it in the fridge.

5. I drizzle olive oil, pepper, and basil on it, but you can use anything or nothing.

6. Cook for 30-50 minutes. I know this is a big range, but each oven seems to cook them differently. Also the bigger the spaghetti squash, the longer it will take. 

7. It is done when you can stick a fork into it and begin to pry apart the strands. If the strands don't separate, it isn't done. I find it better to take it out early, than to over-cook it. If it is a little hard once you've scraped out the strands you can put it in the microwave for a minute or two.

8. Once it has cooled a little, I use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti squash.

The best part about spaghetti squash is it takes about 2 minutes to prepare, and then it cooks itself!

The rest of the meal is just as easy to cook. For this dinner I cooked chicken and asparagus in a pan, and then mixed in spinach and mozzarella cheese when it was almost done. Mushrooms can also be really good with this dish. One of my other favorite ways to eat spaghetti squash is eating it with spaghetti sauce and broccoli. I get to feel like I'm having a nice Italian dinner, but without all the carbs.