Sunday 14 October 2012

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Okay gosh. I am swamped with studying and taking care of my household and trying to be an involved student. So I'm surprised this is even being posted. I've actually taken a request for crackers as well which I wasn't able to get around to today... :(! Sorry, pearcington! Soon!

I promised my friend crepes (yummy, I know) that this casserole would be the next thing I post. So here it is.

Spaghetti squash is called such because the meat of the squash naturally splits into strands that resemble pasta, particularly spaghetti (or spaghettini). This is a fantastic choice if you are a low-carber and have a serious craving for pasta. Spaghetti squash is incredibly mild flavoured and goes well with just about any sauce. Thus, it is perfect as a pasta substitute. I personally have used white and red sauces with my squash, as well as having served it with butter and parmesan cheese alone.

This casserole is great on its own but also works nicely as a side (especially if you're having steak... mmm!).

Serving Size: 10ish (I forgot to measure this accurately but we got 10 "scoops" servings)
Nutritional Information: 195 cals, 9g of carbs and 2g of fiber (7g net carbs), 13g of fat, 12g of protein

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Your Ingredients: 

this is not my image. thanks google.
  • 1 whole spaghetti squash
  • 3 cups of broccoli 
  • 1 cup of cottage cheese
  • 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated
  • choice seasoning

Your Tools:

  • A 1 1/2 quart casserole dish
  • A cheese grater
  • A cutting board & knife
  • A fork

The Directions:

Step 1 -

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Step 2 -

Cook your spaghetti squash. There are many ways to do this so I will outline a few options:

  1. First, use your fork to poke holes all over the squash, as deep as the fork will allow. Next, either inside a microwaveable dish or not, microwave your squash for 10-15 minutes (I did 12 minutes). If you do not poke holes in your squash it will most likely explode into a really terrible mess in your microwave.
  2. First, use your fork to poke holes all over the squash, as deep as the fork will allow. Next, boil the squash for 20 minutes or so. 
  3. First, cut your squash in half length-wise (this is a pain in the behind!) and scoop out all the seeds and mush from the center. Next, place in a microwaveable dish and microwave for 10-15 minutes.
  4. First, cut your squash in half length-wise (this is a pain in the behind!) and scoop out all the seeds and much from the center. Next, brush the exposed flesh around the open edges with oil and place open-side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
For this recipe I microwaved my whole squash poked with so many holes. This method has the fastest cooking time, and the squash is easier to cut after it's been cooked. 
Okay leave your squash to cook and move on!

Step 3 - 
As a filler food I used broccoli, primarily because I had extra that I didn't want to go bad and this was the easiest way to use it at the time. But it was actually delicious. If you really despise broccoli, try cauliflower or uh... spinach? Experiment!
Anyway, go ahead and chop up your broccoli florets like so:


Put the broccoli aside and grate your cheese. By the time you are done these things, the spaghetti squash should also be finished.

Oh p.s.! You can lightly steam your broccoli if you don't want it to be really crunchy in the casserole. I kept mine raw and still enjoyed it.

Step 4 - 
The squash is going to be really fricken' hot no matter how you've cooked it so wear some oven mitts. You will want to slice your squash length-wise and then scoop out all the seeds and mush from the very center. 



Step 5 -
Using your trusty fork, split the squash into strands like so: 

You can do this easily just by scraping with your fork. Put all your squash strands into a bowl for now!


Step 6 - 
Add your chopped broccoli florets, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and your choice of seasoning to the squash strands and mix them up.



Step 7 - 
In your casserole dish, start to layer your pasta mixture and cheese (pasta/cheese/pasta/cheese) like so: 

Make sure your final layer is a nice layer of cheese!

Step 8 - 
Bake your casserole in an open dish (no lid) for 25 minutes and then another 5-10 minutes on broil. Once finished, let it cool for a few minutes and enjoy!


Finished Product



I should really get a camera.


xo,
Jennifer

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